Sapphire and Scarlet
by Rangergirl3
Summary: Keith and Lance have to work together to make it out of the Druid's stronghold. 20th (and latest) in the Lost Paladins series. This one's for all you hurt/comfort fans out there, as well as anyone who just loves to read about two good friends being there for each other in a bad situation. Another way of putting it? "He ain't heavy, he's my brother."
1. Prologue: Laughing at the Dark

Here is a poem I though you all might enjoy (it also works as a summary for the fic as a whole):

*ahem*

Keith is with Red

Lance is with Blue

This fic's about brothers

Who are pretty cool

* * *

To my amazing sister who's been asking for this fic ever since I started writing the 'Lost Paladins' series - here it is, finally, an entire fic devoted to Lance hurt/comfort. :-) :-)

Sis, you are the epitome of 'laughing on purpose at the darkness', and to be honest, this series would not have been written without you. You're pretty freaking awesome, and I love you.

PSA: In some fic, at some point, I promise that the characters I love will get the break they deserve. But it is not this fic.

* * *

The thing that _really_ frustrated Lance about his situation was not being able to talk.

It wasn't that he thought everything he said was the most important thing, all the time, every day - but for him, it was a way to reach out and interact with the world around him, by asking questions and sharing his ideas and most importantly of all, to contribute and be part of the team.

He liked to talk. He liked it a lot.

Which was probably why Haggar wasn't letting him do it right now.

Lance huffed out a breath and tried again, without success, to shake off the mask that was buckled around his face.

When they had put it on his face at first, he absolutely freaked out, shaking his head wildly and snarling wordlessly, but the witch had just laughed at that.

Lance hated the way _that_ went, so he decided to take a different approach. He stopped snarling and instead, he forced himself to take in deep breaths, in and out through his nose - easier said than done - and focused his mind on how _stupid_ Haggar would look in pink, and with a bow on her head.

And how _ridiculous_ she would be if she ever got a case of the slipperies.

The mental image of Haggar, all in pink like Umbridge, her spooky and threatening ambiance completely gone, sliding around the deck of her ship with no traction whatsoever, flailing wildly and falling right off of some walkway and face planting into the floor seven stories below like a Loony-Tunes cartoon actually helped Lance regain some fraction of his usual spirit for a few seconds.

He'd even had to hold back a chuckle.

 _Oh, man, Hunk was going to split his sides laughing when Lance told him about this -_

 _If…he ever…made it…back…to Hunk…and the others…_

 _ **Quiznak.**_

 _Annoying_ , that's what this was, being captured by Haggar and having his Lion impounded like a car with too many unpaid parking tickets.

Really, _really_ annoying.

…and scary, if Lance was being honest…and terrifying…especially because he really hadn't been able to do anything about it.

Also, he _hated_ being on his own. Come to think of it, he had never faced the witch on his own before. The only times he'd been facing her had been with his team…but that wasn't the case now.

It was just him, and her, and this dark void of space where she'd taken him and his Lion after taking them by _complete_ surprise when they were out with the others, scouting a system for drained planets and prisoners in need of rescue.

In hindsight, he probably should have waited for Red to a little bit nearer to him when he'd taken a detour to check out that distress beacon.

He'd been near the others, in their usual pattern - but when he saw the distress signal come up on his viewscreen, he'd been the closest one to it. He'd seen that the signal was faint - almost completely gone - and he'd been afraid whoever was sending it wasn't going to last for much longer.

He'd started flying in that direction - and of _course_ he had told the others where he was going and why he was heading there immediately - he wasn't _completely_ stupid - and Red had changed course to accompany him - but then a Galra tractor beam had hit him out of freaking _nowhere,_ and Lance hadn't been able to get away.

It was really depressing, getting his Lion caught twice.

Lance actually felt pretty embarrassed about it, but at least the others hadn't yelled at him or called him stupid or anything like that.

They'd just been frantic with worry.

Somehow…that had almost been worse.

When someone was frightened for you, there really wasn't anything you could say in response.

Especially if you were too scared to say anything at all.

* * *

 _ **Earlier that day**_

"Guys! GUYS!" he shouted, trying to get out of the tractor beam, without success. "It's a trap! It's a trap - they caught me in - in - a tractor beam - I - I can't get free - "

Then, Lance saw the wormhole open, and he felt his stomach drop into his shoes. He had wanted to throw up, but he had to tell his team, he had to tell them what he was seeing so they wouldn't get caught too.

It was a normal Galra ship…but…

"…uh...guys…I…think…I think Haggar…is on…the…ship…that has...me..."

There was a split second of horrified silence over the comms, and Lance used it to describe what he saw through Blue's viewscreen.

"Th-they're taking me into a wormhole - and - and it looks a lot like - it did - when Haggar corrupted ours - that last time - uh - "

He wanted to tell them to stay away, to stay safe, because losing one Lion was bad enough, but the words wouldn't come in time, because then his comms went crazy as everyone started screaming his name at once.

Lance winced as he heard the absolute terror in the voices over his comms.

" **NO**! Lance! _Lance_ , _hang on_ , _we're coming_!" Shiro, their awesome leader, trying to be encouraging - which Lance appreciated - really - he did - but -

"LANCE!" Pidge, in the middle of saying something about whoever got to him first had to break the tractor beam device and help him get away, because there was no way were they letting Haggar take _Lance_ -

" **LANCE**!" Hunk, his bellow of fear almost physically painful to hear over the comms. "LANCE, activate Blue's particle barrier! Do it, _**now**_!"

Lance did, wishing his best friend ( _who was nice and smart and quick-thinking and really an all-around great person who had been nice to him - Lance, the most annoying kid in study-hall - all those years ago)_ hadn't needed to remind him to pull up one of the most basic shields a Lion could have - but then again - everything was happening so fast - it was all happening so _damn_ fast -

Lance even heard Coran and Allura shouting over the comms, and they were usually the ones who stayed calm - they saying that they would try to lock onto Blue's coordinates, try to make _sure_ they could keep a track on Blue and Lance's signal after the Galra ship made the wormhole jump.

Then Shiro was telling Lance that he should just stay calm, and stay with Blue, and they _would_ find him, they _would_ -

Throughout this, Keith hadn't screamed out Lance's name like the others, but Lance thought that was because the Red Paladin had been too busy cursing out the Druid and her lackeys who had managed to catch Lance in their trap.

"-it should have been me - it should have been me - Lance, hang on, I'm coming - I _swear_ \- _I swear I'll get you out of there_ -"

Then, the Galra ship had worm-holed away, Blue still caught and helpless in its tractor beam, and his comms shorted out, and there was nothing Lance could do but try and stay mentally connected to his Lion as they disappeared into the black wormhole from Hell for a second time.


	2. Paladin and Lion

Lance tapped his fingers against the controls. He was scared, and he could feel that his Lion was scared too, so he tried to make a joke, to help her feel better.

"…uh…so…do you think I'll de-age, or something?" he asked, but Blue only shook her head in a half-frantic gesture of uncertain fear.

 _My pilot, you are barely more than a cub already -_

Lance sat bolt upright in his pilot's chair.

" _Hey_! What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

 _My pilot, do not misunderstand me - you are already an able warrior - but -_

But Lance grinned cockily as he patted his Lion's control panel, to let her know he had been only teasing her, and she broke off, half-purring for a second despite their dire situation. When she spoke again, her voice was half-fond, half-confused, and all worry.

 _My pilot,_ _ **must**_ _you jest when you are in such danger?!_

Lance sighed at that. He couldn't really do anything while they were in the wormhole, except maybe try and make her chuckle, so he let out a faint attempt at one himself.

"-ehe-heh-uh…um…because it's either make jokes or lose my mind and starting gibbering in fear?"

… _Gibbering…?_

"It's just a - a fancy way of saying that right now, I _could_ be screaming _lots_ of words that I _don't_ usually use _really_ fast and _really_ loudly at a frequency _normally_ reserved for dogs."

… _I do not quite understand…_

Blue was usually pretty good at picking up on Lance's sense of humor, but right now, she was desperately frightened about what lay in store for them - and especially what lay in store for _him_.

Lance bit his lip and decided to be honest.

What the quiznak. It was worth a shot.

The wormhole still stretched out before them, and over their mental link, he could feel the way Blue's attention was fixed attentively on the area around them, so he knew he wasn't distracting her when he spoke again.

He didn't mind explaining his reasons to her. If nothing else, it would help distract him from what waited for them once they left this wormhole.

"I'm…just…uh… _really_ trying not to freak out…right now…so…uh…I tried - I tried - t-to make a joke instead."

* * *

Blue rumbled deep in her chest when she replied.

 _That is one of the things I love most about you, my Paladin._

Lance looked up at the inside of the pilot's window sharply.

"Huh?"

 _You use laughter against the darkness. It suits you well -_

Lance scratched the back of his neck. "…aw…thanks, Blue…."

\- _even if it_ _ **is**_ _occasionally poorly timed -_

Lance felt a grin spread across his face again, a more genuine one this time, and he threw his arms out wide in a 'whaaaaat'?! gesture, meant for jesting effect rather than an actual expression of affronted pride.

"Oh, I just _can't_ get a laugh from you today, huh?!"

Blue's tone took on a half-humorous tone.

 _I cannot imagine why._

Lance rubbed his hands together, still grinning despite their situation. Blue was joining in the game. _Good_. That had been the whole point of this, to help her feel even just a _little_ less scared.

" _Well_ , I guess I'll just have to improve my material - I've got _loads_ of things I could try - do you like bad jokes? I have so many, it would take _years_ to tell you them all -"

Lance felt his Lion give him the mental equivalent of a side-long look and take on an 'uh-oh' sort of tone as she replied.

 _ **Oh**_ _**no**_ _\- Red warned me about this - you drive his Paladin_ _ **mad**_ _with them -_

Lance grinned, linked his fingers together, cracked his knuckles, and settled back in his chair, settling his hands behind his head, seeming completely at ease.

Yes, he was in a portal from Hell, and a crazy space witch was probably plotting something dire.

But he had Blue.

So he was going to do everything he could to make her laugh.

He squinched his eyes half-shut in concentration, and then snapped his fingers.

"Aha! Okay, I got one. What do you call an Elvish Lord gathering where no one agrees on what to do?"

He felt his Lion give the equivalent of a mental sigh, but it was one of genuine affection and appreciation for his efforts as she answered.

… _I don't know_ … _what_ _ **do**_ _you call it_ …?

Lance couldn't hold back a self-satisfied smirk as he gave the punch line. He'd made this one up himself.

"A THREE RING CIRCUS!"

There was a mental snort of laughter from Blue, and Lance couldn't hold back a howl of his own laughter, making ecstatic finger guns around at the cabin in general, grinning wildly at the fact that he'd been able to help his Lion laugh on what was looking like a very, _very_ bad day.

Still laughing, Lance threw his arms wide open as Blue kept chuckling, and he pivoted around on his pilot's chair with a 'oh yeah, worship me' gesture.

"Get it?! GET IT?! Three Eleven Kings under the sky?! Can't agree on anything?! IT'S A THREE RING CIRCUS!"

He bounced up and down in his chair, grinning like an idiot because damn it all, if he might die by Druids today, he was going to go out with a _damn_ good joke.

Take that, darkness.

Lance McClain just **kicked** your **ass**.

"I'M A FRICKING _GENIUS_ , BLUE!"

Blue was still laughing as she purred in reply, her voice loving and her words completely genuine.

 _That you are, my pilot, that you are…_

Then there a stutter of noise from his comms, and another familiar voice sounded over the sound system. However, this one was genuinely annoyed, frantically concerned, and not doing a very good job of hiding the second emotion at all.

"-I swear to GOD - that is - that is the absolute WORST Lord of the Rings reference that I have EVER FUCKING HEARD - Lance - how do you LIVE with yourself -"

Lance immediately sat back up in his chair, all semblance of nonchalance gone. Oh, no - if he'd had been caught in the tractor beam too - oh _no_ -

"Keith! _Keith_ \- did you get caught too?! I thought I was the only one-"

A visual link opened up on Lance's viewscreen, and he saw Keith was shaking his head emphatically from side to side as he answered.

"- _No_ , I didn't get _caught_ \- I'm - just - uh - sort of using Druid magic - to follow you in Red - basically I'm hiding in their slipstream -"

Lance didn't know exactly what that meant, but he sighed in relief all the same. "Oh, good, so you're not trapped - "

Keith nodded again, almost impatiently this time. "Yes - _again_ \- _I'm_ _fine_ \- but Lance - _listen_ -"

Then the wormhole spiraled to a close in front of Blue, and Lance saw unfamiliar stars come into focus on either side of Haggar's ship, which loomed directly above the Blue Lion. It looked _huge_.

Then the tractor beam begin to pull Blue into the Druid's ship again, and Lance swallowed, feeling all pretense of humor leave him.

Some things, you just couldn't laugh at, no matter how much you wished you could.

"…K-Keith…?"

Keith realized what was happening and swore again. Lance thought he heard real, true fear in the words, and knew Keith wasn't swearing at him. His friend was out of his mind with worry, but trying not to show it - which was what Lance had been doing earlier, with Blue - _I guess we_ _ **are**_ _a lot alike sometimes -_ _I use humor and he uses -_

" _Dammit_! Lance, _listen_ , I'm close by, and I'm coming for you, okay? I _swear_ on my _soul_ that I'm coming for you - so - just - hold out long enough for me to get-"

Then Blue had been pulled completely into the ship's cargo bay, and Keith's voice became a fizz of static that died away completely.

* * *

"…Keith…?" Lance asked again, but there was no reply.

Lance swallowed, looked down, and saw that his hands were shaking as they gripped his Lion's controls. He couldn't see anything outside her view screens now, and Blue was telling him she couldn't sense anything outside of her particle barrier.

This must be part of the Druid's magic Shiro had told them about - the kind that cut out light and sound and any true knowledge of your surroudings. Oh, Haggar _definitely_ had them now, and even though Keith was on his way to get them out, Lance knew that he had no control over what might happen to them in the meantime.

This…was…going…to…suck…

 _Come-on-come-on-come-on,_ his brain said, more in colors and frantic flashes of feeling than in words. _Blue-is-scared-make-a-joke-quick-do-something-to-help-she's-terrified-come-on-come-on-come-on-_

"I _r-really_ hate the lighting in here," Lance muttered. When Blue didn't immediately respond, he swallowed and tried again, stubbornly refusing to just stop being himself, stop being _Lance_ , just because he was faced with the whole weight and clout of the Druid's power. "This is - _a-hem_ \- uh -this is some - _r-really_ impractical visibility - in h-here - "

 _My pilot, be_ _ **serious**_ _! You are in_ _ **danger**_ _!_

Lance knew his Lion was desperate on his behalf. Come to think of it, he was more scared for her than he was for himself.

Maybe that was how you knew you were _really_ part of a team - when you were more scared for others than you were for yourself, and they felt the same way about you.

Lance half-laughed then, wishing Hunk were here so he could tell him this - he would _have_ to tell Hunk later….if there was…a later…

 _Oh, God._

 _Please let there be a later._

 _Please let Keith get to us in time._

Blue sensed the fear Lance was no longer able to hide or ignore, and Lance could feel her protective nature kick in, because she started to _growl_.

She wasn't growling at him - she would _never_ growl at him unless it was in jest or in affection. This growl she was doing right now was the 'try-to-touch-my-cub-and-you're- _lunch_ ' growl.

Hoooo boy, Lance was glad Blue was on his side. She was kind, affectionate, and by far the most welcoming of the Lions…but if you hurt anyone she cared for, she would tear you to pieces before you realized she had made the pounce.

Amid the growls, Blue's voice resonated inside Lance's head, and it was an enveloping, nurturing sound that reminded him of one of his mom's hugs.

 _They shall not take you, my Paladin. I will not permit it to be so._

Lance nodded shakily. The darkness was really getting to him. He could just imagine the Druids out there, waiting for him, watching him.

Oh, _man_ , when he'd said he wanted a victory parade, that was _not_ what he had meant - like, _at all_ \- but what kind of stupid kid was he, to want a victory parade in the first place -

Blue's voice cut over that thought immediately, but her tone was still warm and loving.

 _\- my pilot - you_ _ **must**_ _stop thinking you are less than you are -_

Lance felt his jaw drop open in startled surprise as he heard Blue continue.

 _You are brave, you are strong, you are good, and you are_ _ **mine**_ **.** _I wish for no other._

Lance sniffed and wiped the heel of one hand across his eyes, wishing he didn't feel like crying at realizing how much Blue loved him. That really meant a lot, but he didn't want Blue to think she'd made him sad, so he tried to make another joke instead.

"…I…s-still might g-gibber…B-blue…" he said, his voice wavering despite his best efforts, and he heard her rumble in something that might have been both fond amusement and pride at the way he kept trying to laugh at the darkness. He coughed and put on his best imitation of a weather-man announcer from Earth.

"…'cause…r-right now, t-there's a 75% c-chance of g-gibbering in the im-m-mediate future - uh - b-but…uh…"

Lance gripped the controls tighter, making an important decision. Even though they were probably facing certain death, he wanted to make sure that his beautiful, wonderful, amazing Lion knew that he was glad to be her Paladin before anything separated them.

So Lance dropped the imitation and spoke the simple truth, because he wasn't sure if he would get another chance.

"…Blue..?"

 _Yes, my Paladin?_

"…I just…uh…wanted to tell you… that you're _really_ great…and…um…I'm _really_ glad…that I got to pilot you…at least, for awhile…and that you took us through the alien wormhole…to the Castle… all that time ago…I really, _really_ am -"

At that moment, there was a flickering of purple light across the front of Blue's particle barrier, and Lance tensed in fear. He felt Blue crouch down and snarl viciously at the darkness, and he was glad she was snarling this loudly, because maybe that could cover up the way he was shaking from head to foot, or that his teeth were chattering like maracas.

Oh, _man_ , he wished he was _anywhere_ but here - he just wanted to get out of here with Blue - he just wanted to _run_ -

Haggar was talking now, and her voice was just as dry and scary and malicious as he remembered - oh, _great_ , he was stuck in a loading bay with Umbridge giving a monologue - _fantastic_ -

Wait.

What was that about prisoners?

* * *

"Leave your Lion, or I kill them all. You have one minute to decide."

Lance sat bolt upright in his chair and tried desperately to look out of Blue's main viewscreen again.

" _Blue_!" he shouted. "Blue - what is she doing - who is she talking about - "

His Lion growled, again, _fiercely_ , but she didn't know. The strange darkness of the landing bay was something not even Blue could not see through.

She was blind and deaf, and it frightened and sickened her in a way that Lance felt in his bones.

She couldn't tell him what was really going on out there - and she desperately wished she could - because now, they could both hear voices.

People calling out for aid, pleading for help only they could give, and that hurt Lance _way_ more than any threat to his own safely would have.

"Blue!" he shouted, and he could feel her fear rising along with his, "-can you - use that sonic weapon - or your lasers - anything?!"

 _\- I cannot - not while my particle barrier is up - and even if I could - I could not see to aim - I may very well harm those we wish to protect -_

Lance had thought so, but he'd _had_ to ask. The voices were getting louder, more desperate, and Lance clenched one fist and banged it against his helmet, trying to think, trying to decide what to do.

Haggar wasn't the type to make empty threats, or to waste time -

People were in danger.

Oh, God, what could he do - what _should_ he do -

The witch's voice sounded then, and it seemed bored, almost dismissive.

"Very well, then. It seems you lack the courage to fulfill your duties as a Paladin."

Then there were screams - horrible, awful screams - and Lance knew that he could _never_ just sit in here while people died outside - that wasn't who he was - that would _never_ be who he was-

He grabbed his bayard, pulled it free, and shouted at Blue to open her ramp.

 _But my Paladin - it is almost certainly a trap -_

"JUST DO IT!" he screamed, bringing his sniper rifle up to bear so that he could immediately start firing at the first enemy that appeared.

 _ **\- but - I cannot lose you -**_

There was more screaming now, high-pitched and shrill, sounds of absolute terror, and Lance knew he could never, _ever_ live with himself if he didn't take action, _now._

Neither he or Blue had any certain way of knowing if it was a trick, or a massacre.

But trap or no trap, he couldn't just sit here.

Maybe that's the witch was counting on.

Hell, it was more than likely.

But by God, if there was even the slightest chance he could help save some of those people, Lance was going to give it all he had.

" **BLUE**!" Lance shouted, _frantic_ with the need to make her understand that if he didn't do this, he wouldn't be _him_ anymore, he wouldn't be _Lance_ anymore. He'd be someone who had put his own safety above others.

He could never live with that.

Not while there was even the faintest chance that he could help these people.

In that instant, when she understood that this was something he _had_ to do, Lance felt both fear and pride coming from his Lion, and the ramp began to lower.

Lance hadn't known he could sound like an officer and _mean_ it, but he did exactly that.

"IF **ANYONE** BUT ME TRIES TO GET BACK IN HERE, DON'T LET THEM - UNDERSTAND?!"

Blue roared in answer, and then he nodded, once, and he knew that Blue and he completely understood each other.

He would go out. He would face the enemy, and no matter what happened, he would keep Blue safe.

No matter what the cost.


	3. Dark Magic

Of course, It _had_ been a trap.

The faces, the voices, they were all holograms, echoes of prisoners long since dead in some awful quintessence draining experiement.

The trap had been sick, and twisted, and cruel, but it had worked. It had worked _exactly_ the way Haggar had planned. Lance had done his best - he'd been ready, he'd been watchful, but the witch and the other Druids had _still_ somehow managed to ninja up behind him as he had come off the ramp, rifle raised and ready.

He sensed the movement just a fraction of a second too late to avoid getting grabbed by the neck and dragged away into the darkness, but in that fraction of a second, Lance been able to do what was most important.

He had been able to scream for Blue to raise the particle barrier to its full strength, even as the witch had grabbed hold of him and vanished away from Blue, pulling Lance away from his Lion and out into the darkness, far away from Blue and the protection that her particle barrier promised.

* * *

Darkness, all around him, swirling, awful, pitch-black darkness.

 _He'd never liked the dark_.

Lance couldn't see Blue, couldn't tell where she was, but he could hear her. She was screaming his name and raging in despair and clawing desperately at the ground, behind her particle barrier, frantic with fear -

When Lance felt his feet hit the ground again he tried to run, he _did_ , but then claws grabbed him around the throat and raised him off the ground for a second time, and it just wasn't possible to run when both your of your feet were five feet off the _frickin_ ' _ground_.

Lance snarled and tried to bring his weapon to bear on the enemy, but then he felt other figures near him in the darkness, cloaks and hoods and - oh, God, the Druids, the Druids had him - and then one of them had wrenched his bayard out of his hands. Lance saw the sniper rifle flicker out of existence, leaving only the hilt behind.

 _Damn it - Rayzor just got that back for me_ \- _I_ _ **really**_ _should put a tracking device on that -_

Blue was still screaming for him, and Lance wanted to answer, he did, but he was so scared, he just couldn't find any words to say, and now someone was pulling off his helmet, throwing it to the ground, kicking it far away.

 _There went his comms - and any chance Lance had of airlocking himself and Blue out of this mess - or, as he would have put it - 'Pull a typical Keith Red Shirt move' -_

Lance felt Blue's rage as she sensed his fear grow, but he tried to focus on the positive all the same, because to be honest…he was pretty sure this day was about to go downhill, and fast.

He was captured, but at least the Druids didn't have full possession of the Blue Lion.

Now someone had pulled his wrists behind his back and snapped some sort of Galra or Druid cuffs around his wrists.

 _Apparently they_ _ **could**_ _be different - that was still_ _ **so**_ _weird to think about -_

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance thought he saw some kind of mask coming at his face. That was when he _panicked,_ kicking and thrashing and gaining just a few precious seconds of time.

 _Oh no oh no oh no tell Blue tell Blue_ _ **now**_ _she'll go_ _ **completely**_ _crazy and get captured unless you tell her right freaking now -_

It was difficult to talk, with the claws still gripped around his throat, but Lance McClain _always_ found a way to talk. He jerked his face away from the mask long enough to to scream one last order to his Lion.

" **BLUE - DON'T TAKE DOWN THE BA-** "

Then one of the Druids _did_ snap the mask securely over the lower half of his face, and Lance suddenly understood why Keith had _hated_ these things in the infirmary, why he'd kept trying _so_ hard to get away, because it was a _terrifying_ feeling to have something over your face - to have it cut off your voice - it was _awful_ -

Lance kicked out again, snarling, but whoever was holding him just laughed and tightened their had been bad enough before they'd snapped this mask over his face, but now - now it felt like Lance was being buried alive. He couldn't say _anything_ \- or breathe very much at all - and Blue couldn't come help him, because otherwise, she'd be caught too, just as completely as he was now -

Blue was roaring now, roaring _so_ loudly in fear and anger, Lance could feel the air around him tremble.

It reminded him of something that had happened when he'd been really little - he'd been in his bedroom, right when a lightning bolt struck a tree near his house, and he'd been leaning against the wall when the thunder roared immediately after the lightning strike.

The wall had shook, and it had shaken Lance's body, too. Blue's roaring felt just like that now - he could feel it in his bones, in his chest-

 _He couldn't have been more then seven years old when that happened - how could he still remember things - like that - at a time like this -_

 _Maybe it's my brain putting things into context,_ he thought, and he _really_ wished that instead of going down memory lane, he could bust out some awesome karate moves or something _useful_ like that to get out of this situation, get back to Blue, and to be able to _talk_ again -

Because Lance liked talking. He liked it a lot.

 _It was really annoying - and sort of scary - not to be able to talk anymore -_

Then the darkness all around him swirled away, it just dissipated and vanished into the air like mist, and Lance saw that the person who held up by his throat was Haggar.

Haggar.

 _Oh God._

Well, he'd been right in one regard.

The day had definitely gone downhilll fast.

 _Hor-freaking-ray._

In what Lance was now convinced would be his last moments alive, he thought of his family, and Blue, and how really, _really_ sorry he was that he hadn't been able to help those people he'd heard screaming out in the darkness.

True, they'd died long, long ago - but still. Lance _wished_ he could have helped them.

It was just who he was.

* * *

When Haggar smiled up at him, Lance could imagine all the blood draining right out of his face. He couldn't laugh anymore, because as much as he'd tried to deny it, she was _terrifying_ up close.

Oh, God, he didn't want to be here - _he didn't want to be here_ -

"Nothing to say?" Haggar asked, mockingly, and Lance swallowed, feeling his entire body start to really _twitch_ and tremble now.

 _Well, yes, actually,_ his brain said, stubbornly intent on trying to distract him from the fact that freaking HAGGAR had him by the neck in a stranglehold, _I do, but you know, you kind of put the kibosh on that when you freaking_ _ **gagged**_ _me with this half-mask,_ _ **you ugly old bat**_ _._

Blue was still roaring and raging, and it was then that Lance realized Haggar held him so that his back was to Blue.

Realizing his Lion could see this - see him held in the air as a prisoner - a prisoner about to die, and her not able to do _anything_ to prevent it - that realization felt like a physical blow. All semblance of humor left Lance's mind and he could only think one thought, over and over and over, on loop, hoping Blue would listen, that she would listen to him -

 _\- oh god oh god oh god - Blue - don't look - don't look - I don't want you to see this - don't look-don't-look-don't-look-_

 _ **NO!**_ _**LANCE! NO!**_

Lance felt himself go cold at the pain in Blue's voice - almost literally - his ice powers felt like they were going to -

 _Wait a second._

 _His ice powers._

 _What if he could just -_

Lance tried to condense the cold into the cuffs first, because as _much_ as he wanted to talk, the opportunity to punch Haggar in the face was _way_ more tempting and strategically sound.

But of course, his brilliant idea didn't go as planned.

Instead of the cuffs freezing over and becoming easier to break - like what was _supposed_ to happen - Lance felt dark lightning emanate from the cuffs, crackling up and down his arms, and it _hurt_. It was like getting electrocuted, but worse. It was like this dark lightning was trying its best to suck out his life force, and the harder he tried to use his Paladin's powers, the more life it took from him.

Lance writhed in pain, which of course made everything hurt _more_ because Haggar was still holding him five feet off the freaking floor.

 _Geez_ , Haggar had managed to weaponize _handcuffs_? How much time did this woman _have_ on her hands?

 _Ten thousand years, give or take_ , his mind supplied, ever ready with an answer, a comeback, a retort, anything.

His brain was a real smart ass most of the time. His mouth was too, when he could move it.

Despite the very real pain he was in - now his arms were trembling even worse from the after-effects of the lightning, and he knew he must have screamed at some point along the way - Lance had that silly picture of Haggar with an _extreme_ case of the slipperies come into his mind, and he let out a faint wheeze that might have been a weak attempt at a laugh.

 _God, his mind was a strange place to be, even when he was seconds away from death -_ _but_ _Coran would have howled with laughter at that too - and maybe even Keith would have cracked a smile -_

Haggar just narrowed her eyes at his chuckle and tightened her hold on his throat. Her nails - nononono - those were claws - yup - definitely - definitely claws - dug painfully into Lance's skin, and Lance couldn't stop himself from trying to break away from her grip again, because it hurt, it _really_ hurt, and he didn't want to be here - he just wanted to be back with his friends - he just wanted to go home -

But he couldn't get free, and it _hurt_ , _everything just kept hurting_ , and he couldn't keep himself from letting out a muffed scream of pain. It was a weak and strangled sound behind the mask, and Blue roared again, scared and desperate and out of her mind with worry for her Paladin.

 _ **MY PILOT!**_

Lance was _trying_ to catch his breath, but it was hard, it was _so_ hard to do because of this _stupid_ mask, and he was beginning to see stars in his vision, because of the pain and the lack of air - and also, the inability to say what he thought of the witch was _killing_ him -

 _\- oh - n-not -g-great choice of words there - s-sorry, Blue -_

Haggar adjusted her grip, too quick for Lance to see, and the next thing he knew, Lance was on his knees, facing Blue, with the witch's claws still wrapped around his neck, but now from behind in what could easily become a fatal death-grip. The witch's other hand held Lance's chin in a vice-like hold so that he and his Lion could clearly see each other.

"Paladin," Haggar had said, very softly, and Lance almost jumped out of his skin again because he _really_ didn't want Haggar to be this close to him, "tell your Lion to take down the barrier."

Lance wished he'd had the bravery to laugh in the witch's face, but the best he could manage was to shake his head.

 _Not a chance in Hell._

Lance could feel Blue screaming to him in his mind, begging him to let her take down the barrier, so that she could come and help him, but he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let the Druids get Blue.

 _Blue - it's okay - listen - you need to stay there - you have to - we_ _ **can't**_ _let Haggar get you -_

Red had been in captivity for years - and years - and years - but if Blue stayed behind her particle barrier - she'd be okay - she'd be okay -

 _ **NO! LANCE! PLEASE!**_

Lance wished he could turn his face away from Blue, because it hurt, it hurt him to see her this scared, and desperate, and frantic, but he couldn't, or even say anything at all, so instead, he just tried to think at Blue, think something encouraging. It was the least he could do, for getting them into this mess.

 _Blue - it's okay - listen - it's okay - you can find another Paladin - and - and still - fight -_

 _ **NO!**_

Lance had long since felt tears prick at his eyes, and now he sensed that if Blue could have shed tears, she would at this moment.

 _ **NO! YOU ARE MY PALADIN! I WISH FOR NO OTHER!**_

Haggar was looking between Blue and Lance now, and in that moment, Lance saw an idea cross her mind.

Whatever it was, Lance was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it.

"Hmmm…" Hagger mused, and she took her hand away from his chin and began to call up some kind of cracking energy, something that was unlike any spell Lance had seen before - it was grey and black and pulsed like a horrible star - and Blue was screaming now, in panic and desperate rage -

 _Blue -_ _ **Blue**_ _\- don't take down the barrier - whatever she does -_ _ **don't take down the barrier**_ _-_

Lance wasn't sure Blue would listen to him - he prayed she would - but then Haggar tightened her claws around his neck, and Lance and Blue both froze in place, him out of pain, and her petrified with fear.

"Know this, Blue Lion. If you try to kill me, _or_ escape," Haggar purred, and Lance flinched at how her voice was _right_ by his ear now. It made his flesh crawl, to be this close to someone who was so cruel. "- I _will_ break his neck. You know I would, too."

Lance could hear the dark amusement in the witch's voice when she spoke again. She must be smiling.

" _Remember_? I've done it before."

Behind his back, Lance clenched his fists in anger and pain at how Blue screamed and raged and clawed the ground in helpless fury at the threat, now doubly trapped behind her particle barrier as Haggar smiled and laughed and tightened her grip so that her sharp claws broke Lance's skin again.

 _ **My Pilot!**_

 _\- Blue - I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry - I'm_ _ **so**_ _sorry I couldn't make it back to you in time -_

Then Haggar took the strange, swirling black and grey mist in her palm and slammed it _straight_ into his chest, and Lance _knew_ he'd been right, because whatever this was, it _hurt_.

It hurt like hell.

Even as he screamed in pain, and wished he could fall to the ground, Lance saw Blue freeze once more into place behind her particle barrier, sensed her fear and confusion, and he knew in that moment with a devastating certainty that this spell was hurting _both_ of them, at the same time.

But how could it do that…

..it wasn't _supposed_ to work that way…

 _Lance_ was the Paladin….and his Lion…his Lion…was…immortal…

Dimly, Lance knew he was still screaming…because his throat hurt…but…that pain was faint and far away compared to…what was going on…now…in his heart, in his mind, in his very essence…

Something felt…very… _very_ …wrong…

* * *

A measureless length of time later, Lance heard his Lion calling to him, despair and desperation in her words, but it was so faint, he could barely hear it.

… _**my pilot**_ _…_

Echoes. All the sounds around him were only echoes, and barely even that.

Was this what dying in your sleep felt like?

Just fading gradually away, until your heart stopped beating and you forgot to breathe in again?

Then Lance heard another voice, but this one sounded satisfied, victorious, and it was…it wasn't from someone Lance liked. He didn't know much in this grey, hazy void, but he knew that much.

He didn't like that voice.

"I thought so. He will not last."

Something about the words made the skin on the back of Lance's neck crawl, and he knew he didn't want to give that voice the satisfaction of being right.

So he concentrated - _really_ _concentrated_ \- on opening his eyes, because he was pretty sure he was near someone he trusted - someone he cared for - someone who was scared and calling for him - and when he finally managed to open his eyes, he saw Blue, still in front of him, still frozen in place, and she cried out in gladness when he raised his head to look at her.

 _ **My Pilot!**_

… _Blue…what…what happened…_

 _ **The witch struck you with a spell - one that I have never seen before - oh, my pilot - are you in pain? Where does it hurt? Can I -**_

Lance knew his Lion only wanted to help, but the barrage of questions wasn't helping him feel any better. He shook his head, trying to tell Blue that he wasn't in pain, but then he realized that he _was_ in pain, and it was…it was pretty bad. Every joint, every muscle felt sore and bruised, and even shaking his head felt like it took way too much effort.

 _ **My pilot?!**_

 _I'm…okay…'m just…_ _**really**_ _…tired…_

He made a second effort to raise his head and look at Blue again. She sounded so worried about him. He didn't want her to be worried.

When he finally managed to raise his head, he realized that he was still kneeling on the floor in front of Blue, who was still frozen in a sitting position behind her particle barrier, just like she had been when he'd found her all that time ago, back on Earth.

That meant he was still on the Druid's ship, but...he didn't feel claws on his neck anymore. Lance glanced to one side and saw that Haggar was standing a few paces away, and was now regarding both him and Blue in something resembling half-way bored amusement.

Was that a thing? Half-bored amusement?

Lance wasn't sure.

Maybe it was an evil witch thing.

He decided he really didn't want to look at Haggar anymore than he had to, and turned his full attention back to Blue.

* * *

Okay, so at least the witch from the Black Lagoon wasn't directly by him anymore, breathing down his neck with her claws cutting off his air. That was nice.

He's still rather be sipping a pina colada on a beach somewhere, but hey, this was still better than before.

..but it still wasn't a great situation...

He tried to sigh, realized that frickin' Winter Soldier mask was still on his face, and settled for letting out an weak, annoyed snort through his nose.

 _Haggar on a spaceship._

… _why couldn't I have gotten snakes on a plane…_ he thought, and he felt a very small laugh bubble up inside his chest.

At that, Blue seemed to take heart.

 _ **My pilot, you laugh! Why?**_

… _.mostly because…actually…you know what…I_ _ **don't**_ _know why…I'm…just strange…I guess…h_ _ehehe…the name's strange…Doctor…Strange…_

 _ **My pilot, I dearly love you, but I do not quite understand what you are thinking of at the moment. Perhaps if you were to explain it to me…?**_

Lance couldn't hold back a tired huff of laughter. It hurt, somehow, to laugh - maybe the witch had kicked him in the ribs or something while he'd been out, but at least the laugh was genuine.

 _Sorry, Blue…I think I'm just…so tired right now…that I'm…not really making any sense…_

When Blue spoke again, her voice was worried, but Lance could tell she was trying to conceal it, for his sake.

 _ **My pilot, you must not fall asleep. I do not know why, but I feel that it would be a very bad idea - so come now, tell me, who is this...Doctor Strange...that you speak of?**_

Lance's eyes had begun to slid shut, but as Blue asked the question, a whole lifetime's worth of all things nerd came surging back into his mind, and he felt some energy return. Not much, but it was enough to let him open his eyes and glance back up at Blue.

 _Actually…Blue…I haven't even…seen that movie yet…keep meaning...to...though..._

…and that was…a _real_ shame…because…because if there was one thing Lance loved doing…it was watching movies…with his friends…and then…making them..and his Lion…laugh…at his bad jokes…

Haggar was trying to take that away from him. Whatever spell she'd hit him with, it was obvious that falling asleep was a bad idea.

Well, there was no freaking way that Lance McClain was going down without a fight.

 _Freaking Druids, always trying to kill us._

 _No offense, Keith._

 _ **Keith**_ _._

 _ **Oh, God.**_

In his dazed state, Lance had almost forgotten that his friend had promised to come get him…but now…

Haggar had managed to get Lance away from Blue. What if she got Keith, too?

At the thought of his friend getting captured by Haggar, Lance felt the energy inside him die away to be replaced by fear - a horrible, gut-churning, visceral fear at the images that swirled through his mind.

Keith _always_ ran headfirst into situations - he _always_ got hurt - and if he got caught while trying to help Lance, Lance knew that he would never forgive himself.

Haggar would find out - she would find out that -

 _No - I can't let that happen - I_ _ **have**_ _to get out of here - I can't let them catch him - I_ _ **can't**_ _\- they would hurt him - they would - no, no, no -_

Lance made an effort, tried to control his thoughts, his panic.

Shiro had told them that Haggar couldn't _read_ minds, but she was _very_ good at finding out weaknesses or vulnerable areas, and using them against you.

Lance had to stay focused, stay aware, and try to get out of here on his own. He wasn't really sure how he was going to do that, but he was damn well going to try.

He made another monumental effort to look around him again - _stars, why did his entire body feel like it had just gone over ten miles of bad road_ \- and really concentrated on trying to see as much of his surroundings as he could.

Same cargo bay, same witch, and same Blue.

Well, at least he was near Blue. He managed a cheeky wink up at Blue.

 _Hey, beautiful. Let's try...to come up with a way...to help our friends get us out of here...okay?_

Still frozen into place behind her particle barrier, Blue purred back. She sounded tired too, but determined, just like Lance.

 _ **My pilot, you read my mind.**_

Lance grinned at that.

 _Did you...make that joke...on purpose?_

 _ **My Paladin, I am**_ _ **your**_ _**Lion - of**_ _ **course**_ _**I did -**_

"Your friends aren't coming to rescue you," Haggar told him. "Had they cared about you, they would have come long before now."

Lance turned his head to glare at her and wished he could spit in her eye, say something defiant, but of course the mask was still on - _go figure, thanks, Umbridge_ \- _you_ _can't even let a guy be snarky when you're trying to break his spirit -_

The witch went on, calmly, evenly, cruelly. "How long _do_ you think it's been, Paladin? An hour? A day?"

She smiled, showing her sharp, sharp teeth. "It's been _well_ over a month."

* * *

Immediately, Blue cried out in something so close to annoyed rage, Lance could have sworn she raised the hackles on her back, just like an affronted house cat. If a giant mechanical Lion that melded magic and science could have spat and yowled in fury, that was _exactly_ what Blue did.

 _SHE LIES, MY PILOT! OF ALL THE WEAK ATTEMPTS TO BREAK YOUR SPIRIT, THIS IS BY FAR THE WEAKEST! IT HAS NOT EVEN BEEN ONE HOUR OF YOUR EARTH TIME!_

At that moment, Lance was really, _really_ glad Blue was near him, and was able to talk to him, because he felt that if he had been alone…he might have believed the witch.

Something in him would have shattered, because as much as he'd been trying to ignore the pain and the fear, it _did_ feel like it had been days - at least - since he'd been taken.

 _God in Heaven…how had Shiro lasted as long as he did…?_

Maybe he had been really, _really_ good at ignoring the witch…?

But now Haggar was talking again, and Lance shivered at the sound despite himself.

 _No…Shiro couldn't have just ignored the witch._

 _No one could just ignore this._

 _It was like she was reading his soul, picking out everything that would hurt him most, and using it against him._

 _What was she, an evil version of Professor X or something?_

 _Nah, she couldn't read your mind...she was just really good at pushing people's buttons...w_ _as there a mutant who could do that?_

 _He didn't …think so…_

"You are _weak_ , Paladin. You are _useless_. You are simply an annoying child, unworthy of being a Paladin, and no one will even care that you are gone."

Her lip curled contemptuously as she spoke, and even though Lance knew she was an evil witch who he really shouldn't listen to, he still winced at the expression and dropped his gaze to the floor.

He _hated_ it when people sneered at him, mocked him, made him feel small and stupid and worthless.

It didn't matter _who_ it was that did it…he hated it all the same…

 _She_ _**LIES**_! Blue roared in his mind again, and Lance felt all of her affection, her love, and her strength in that moment, and he heard the truth from her.

 _She did not wish she had been found by another._

 _She had never wished to have anyone else as her pilot._

 _He was_ _ **Lance**_ _. He was_ _ **her**_ _**Paladin**_ _._

 _He wasn't a seventh wheel._

 _He was one of a kind, irreplaceable, and treasured beyond comprehension._

 _As long as she was alive, as long as there was a spark of quintessence left in her,_ _ **she would fight for him and be with him**_ _, no matter how long the witch went on with her words and her lies and her hate._

 _Blue would always,_ _ **always**_ _be his._

 _She was his Lion, and he was her Paladin._

 _Nothing could ever change that._

Hearing that from Blue helped Lance in ways he couldn't even attempt to describe.

He felt something in his spirit - something deep inside him that the witch had tried to break - come surging back, full force, and he felt that he had some energy again, or at least enough of it to raise his eyes again towards Blue. If he'd been able to, he would have smiled.

 _Thanks, girl._

Had Blue been able to, Lance thought she might have twitched her tail modestly.

 _ **It is a simple truth, my Paladin. The witch lies. I do not.**_

Lance found he had enough energy to make a reference.

… _yeah…I mean…who spat in her bean curd…right?_

Again, he thought Blue would have cocked her head to one side, had she been able to move like normal.

 _ **My Paladin? What is…bean curd?**_

 _I actually - have no idea - but -_

 _ **Oh, yes - yes, you are quite right - this witch is very bitter indeed -**_

Lance could feel an undercurrent of a curiously predatory sense coming from Blue then, and he saw the witch begin to look nervous.

 _ **I wonder if she would taste bitter, as well…**_

 _Wait -_ _you_ _can_ _eat_ _people?!_

 _ **Well…I could…if I wanted to…**_

 _You do know that now I'll never look at the ramp entrance the same way again, right?_

 _ **Hmph. It is not like I would ever eat**_ _ **you**_ _ **.**_

Lance hadn't really figured his day would include a mental back-and-forth with Blue in the bay of a Galra ship with Haggar standing only feet away, but then, his definition of 'normal' had really gone out the window the day alien abduction became a thing of fact rather than of myth.

Lance thought about the time that must have elapsed since he'd talked to Keith - _really_ thought about it - and felt a grin cross his face. It was hidden by the mask, but _damn_ , it felt good to smile, even if it was only for a few seconds.

 _Blue, just how long has it been now?_

 **Mmm…just under two of your Earth hours, my pilot.**

 _Okay. Thanks, girl._

Yeah, Keith would _never_ take a full month to get here. The guy couldn't even sit through the main titles of a show without grabbing the remote control and hitting the 'fast forward' button, growling about 'stupid seven minute intros - we **saw** the last episode - so just **get** to the action already' - so really, there was **no** **way** he'd ever take a **month** to get here and start kicking Druid butt.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the witch cock her head to one side, and then Lance stared levelly back at her, deciding that if she was going to try and convince him his team didn't care about him, she'd have to try a hell of a lot harder.

Which, of course, she did.

* * *

Haggar had Lance taken to a cell, far away from Blue, where it was much, _much_ harder for Lance to hear his Lion, and she tried to use the illusion magic on him again. It wasn't the same illusion magic she'd used before, when she'd stolen Shiro's voice and form and used that horrible copy to make Lance and the other Paladins think their friend had gone over the to Galra Empire.

This time, she just made Lance _listen_.

She tried to break him by having him _listen_ to the same screams that he'd heard before, out in the darkness of the cargo bay. The worst part about that was that even though Lance _knew_ these people were long past any pain or fear, long, long since out of Haggar's reach, he still couldn't keep himself from feeling sick, and scared, and just…terrible at knowing there was nothing he could do to help those people.

He'd been years and _years_ too late to help, but he wished so _badly_ that he could have helped them -

Then Haggar had made him listen to his friends' screams - he'd had to listen to their voices _screaming_ in pain for what seemed like forever - and even though he had repeated to himself, over and over and over, that this wasn't real, it was a lie, this wasn't really happening, he still couldn't keep from crying.

All the while, Blue tried to help him, to encourage him as best she could, but her voice was growing fainter and weaker all the time, and Lance felt a horrible, draining kind of fear for his Lion when he realized he could barely hear her anymore.

… _my Pilot…do..not…give up…_

The witch had taken the mask off when she had him brought here, to this tiny cell, and Lance had wanted to start shouting insults at the walls immediately, but something told him it wouldn't be a good idea.

And anyway, what was the good of insulting an evil witch unless you knew she could hear you?

But now…

Now he was _pissed_.

Blue sounded weak, and sick, and that just wasn't something he could stand to take lying down.

"BLUE!" he screamed, trying to get free, "BLUE! HANG IN THERE, GIRL! I'M COMING!"

He tried to get free from the vines holding him against the wall of his cell - _god, these things were creepy_ \- but it was like they were alive, somehow, so he really didn't get anywhere. They just tightened and twisted until he stopped moving.

Lance twisted again, trying to catch his breath - and at the same time, trying again to to figure out what the witch could have meant to accomplish by taking the mask off.

It wasn't like Lance missed the thing - he'd _hated_ it - but when she'd taken it off his face, she had said…she had said something about it having served its purpose…whatever that meant…

 _Oh, shit - what if she'd stolen the ability to mimic his voice, like she had with Shiro last time?_

Lance thought about his team, searching for him, worried for him, and thought about Haggar, using his voice to lure them into a trap - and that thought caused him to panic in a way _nothing_ else had.

" **NO!"**

He tried freezing his way out, like he had tried before with the cuffs, but the vines _really_ didn't like that at all - they just twisted even tighter around him, and he had to stop before they pulled a full on boa-constrictor move and just stopped his ability to breathe completely.

A few minutes later, when he tried to get free _again_ , more vines came and wrapped around him, and all his efforts resulted in was pain.

Realizing there was no way for him to get out, that there was no way he could help his team, Lance sagged against the strange black vines that held him and felt something inside his chest start to dim, to burn down.

It might have been his hope, or his spirit, but whatever it was, it was important, and Lance wished he could make it come back…but he couldn't. He couldn't _make_ something like that come back.

He knew Blue had told him it wasn't a good idea to fall asleep, but he felt so tired, and sad, and…just…so…grey…like the life was fading right out of him.

But he wanted to listen to Blue, he wanted to believe her, to keep fighting, so Lance huffed out a breath as best he could, and decided that he should try to push the memory of the screams out of his mind again with something - anything - better than the echoes of that pain.

Otherwise, he was pretty sure he'd lose his mind.

* * *

But come to think of it, this wasn't the first time he'd heard his friends scream in pain and been helpless to stop it. He'd had _countless_ nightmares where the witch was torturing his teammates, and it always shook him up badly.

Shiro. Keith. Pidge. Hunk.

Each of them ending up dead, or worse, night after night after night.

After a particularly bad night, Lance had told Shiro about the dreams, and Shiro had understood. He'd told Lance that he had the same dreams, too.

Lance had tried, as always, to make a joke of out something that had deeply unnerved him.

"…guess that makes us nightmare buddies…huh?"

He and Shiro had been in the kitchen, and it had either been really late at night or really early in the morning. Regardless of the time, Lance had been scarfing down comfort food and Shiro had been drinking a glass of something Lance guessed was stronger than water.

Shiro just looked over at him, and when he spoke, his voice was sad.

"I'm...just sorry you have them, too," he'd said, and then Hunk had wandered in, rubbing his eyes and looking upset, and Lance had shoved a big plateful of comfort food at Hunk.

"…bad dreams?" Shiro had asked, and Hunk just nodded and started eating. Lance rubbed his friend on the back in a comforting manner.

"…yeah…" Lance said. "…it seems to be going around - "

A rumpled, frizzled head poked through the doorway, and Shiro waved Pidge in.

"…you too, huh?" he asked, and Pidge nodded, giving him a quick one-armed hug before she pattered over to the refgeration unit. "Figured I'd get a snack to ward them off. Or breakfast. Whichever."

Shiro moved so that Pidge could open the fridge, and she squawked when she saw what he was drinking.

"Takashi!"

Shiro nearly did a spit-take, trying to keep from laughing at the complete surprise in her voice.

" _What_?"

"I didn't know you drank _alcohol_!"

Shiro rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he tossed back the rest of the drink and set the glass down firmly on the countertop.

"I'm twenty-five - what, are you _surprised_?"

Pidge was giggling as she stuck her head back into the refridgerator unit. "Nah, not really, I just never pictured you doing shots, is all - "

A yawn from the doorway caused them all to look over in that direction. Hunk waved cheerfully in greeting to the newcomer, his mouth still full of comfort food, and then Keith had come in, his hair sticking every which way.

"…Shiro doesn't do…shots…" he said, yawning again, and Shiro snorted and flicked Keith's forehead lightly as he passed by.

"Yes I do," Shiro said. "Just not very often -"

The Black Paladin thought for a second. "Okay, I guess technically I did do them, like, _once_ , back on Earth. In college. I think. It's kind of a blur - being an honor student _really_ makes things meld together-"

Keith rolled his eyes in a 'Oh, yes, let's talk about _school_ ' manner, and went over to join Pidge at looking at what was in the fridge. He leaned against the open door and glanced down at the top of her head.

"Want anything from the top shelf, hobbit?"

Pidge absent-mindedly raised one fist in a vaguely threatening gesture, and Keith sighed.

"Right, _fine_ , okay."

Then the Red Paladin got a very satisfied smirk on his face as he said, in the exact same tone of voice,

"Want anything from the top shelf, hobbit?"

Pidge growled and made to hit him, but Keith vanished in a puff of black mist and then re-appeared almost instantly on the other side of the room, next to Lance, who jumped and swore.

" _Dammit, Keith_!"

Shiro was refilling his glass - with water this time - and he looked over at Lance, raised an eyebrow, then smirked - which made him look a lot like Keith, for some reason - and went back to what he was doing.

"You'll get used to it-"

Lance brightened. "Ooooh, oooh, you mean with alcohol?! Can _I_ have some?"

Shiro just looked at Lance then, and Hunk almost choked because he started laughing mid-swallow. Pidge snorted with mirth and went back to hunting through the fridge, and Keith folded his arms across his chest, still smirking, as Shiro deadpanned his reply to Lance.

"No. Just…no."

Then Lance pretended to be upset, because really, eating comfort food and giving your space siblings grief at what-ever-o'-clock in the morning was _way_ better than having nightmares where something bad was happening to them.

"Aw, come on, Shiro, why not?"

Shiro clearly knew what Lance was up to, but as he leaned back against the wall, he was still smiling.

"I am _not_ even going there."

The rest of the night had devolved into them falling asleep one by one together in the lounge - Lance had actually stored extra pillows and blankets there exactly for this reason - and it still remained one of Lance's favorite memories.

He had a lot of good ones, but that one was one of the best.

So yeah…memories like that…those were the ones Lance wanted to focus on.

Not the echoes of pain and fear he could do nothing to prevent.

* * *

Just then, he heard the door to his cell open.

When he looked up, he saw a Druid come into his cell, closing the door behind him.

Mask, hood, cloak, the whole outfit. It _really_ sent chills up Lance's spine.

Oh, God, here it came. Physical torture.

It _must_ be a Monday.


	4. Escape

Lance decided he might as well _try_ to make a joke before Haggar's lackey really got started. He cleared his throat - because apparently crying and screaming for who-knew-how-long really took it out of your vocal chords - and managed to croak,

"Aren't you….a little short…for a Druid?"

The Druid just stared at him for a few heartbeats, and then the 'Druid' was pulling the hood off its head, revealing messy dark hair and an expression that seemed to be perpetually half-annoyed, but when you got to know the person, you could tell when he was worried about a friend. It was something about the eyes.

"- _that_ line?! From Star Wars?! Okay - that is _it_ \- I - I _fucking_ **hate** you, Lance -"

Then Lance couldn't hold back a laugh.

For a second, he'd thought that maybe this was another sign he was dying - visions or something - but that wasn't the case here.

The annoyance, the way he'd gotten Lance's joke, and best of all, the way he was using his knife to cut through the weird magic vines and was clearly concerned, worried, and pissed as hell that Lance looked like he'd been through Armaggedon.

This really was Keith.

Lance half-grinned, but laughing had hurt _\- ow - ow - ow -_

 _\- but I can't pass up this next joke - I just can't - it would be a crime - come on, Lance - you can do it -_

"…I…know…" he managed, and he could have sworn that Keith would have _punched_ him in the _face_ if the situation hadn't been so dire.

" _Ggggghghhhh_ \- okay - fine then, _Han Solo_ , let's get you out of here -"

The Red Paladin had already freed Lance from the vines, and now was pulling one of Lance's arms over his shoulders.

" - can you walk - it's okay if you can't - "

Lance knew he had to try, he had to try to walk. _Keith_ would try to walk if he'd just been freed, and _Shiro_ , and pretty much everyone else on the team - and Lance was a leg - so it made sense he should really try to walk right now -

"…yup…" Lance slurred, but when he tried to step forward, his legs felt like all the muscles in them had turned to jelly, and even with Keith's help, he nearly faceplanted into the floor.

 _Argh, dammit, he really_ _ **was**_ _useless -_

But Keith was saying it was fine, that he could get them to Blue.

" - come on - we've got to get as far as we can on foot before I teleport us to her particle barrier - otherwise I think Haggar will find us - now come on, I've got you - let's go - "

Keith started to help him balance again, but Lance had to bite back a strangled scream as his right ankle flared with pain, and Keith stopped immediately, his face going white at the way Lance must have looked right then.

" _Lance_! Lance - what is it - what's - "

Lance shook his head stubbornly. "- s - fine - come - on - we gotta - help - Blue-"

But when he tried to put weight on his right leg again, his ankle throbbed so badly he almost threw up. He managed not to - barely - but he did sag against Keith, and he felt his friend readjust his stance so they didn't fall over.

"-whoa - Lance - uh - okay - let's not do that again, okay? -"

Lance tried not to cry, tried to think back to when the vines had tightened a second time. Maybe one of the vines had snapped his ankle then? It was so hard to remember. Everything about today was a blur. A really painful, hurtful, grey blur.

Lance ground his teeth and wished desperately that he could just walk under his own power, because damn it, he should be able to - he should be able to solider on through this and just _be useful_ for once in his stupid, _worthless_ life -

Keith had turned his head and looking into his face, and Lance saw it when his friend's jaw clenched tight in anger.

"She used that mask on you, didn't she?"

Keith was staring at a point half-way up Lance's nose.

Lance blinked. It was getting harder to focus, through the pain.

"…huh…?"

"You've got a mark there. It's not deep - but she used that on you too, didn't she?"

Keith didn't raise his voice, but he seemed to be holding back a great deal of anger as he kept speaking.

"-and the illusion spell too, right? That's how she got you out of Blue in the first place, isn't it?"

Lance winced at the memory. Those voices, the ghosts he hadn't been able to help.

"…yeah…"

Keith's hands were shaking now, and his eyes were staring to glint with hints of yellow, and Lance wondered why that was happening.

Keith's eyes glowed yellow…only when bad things were happening…Keith hadn't been hurt, had he?

 _\- If he is, it's your fault for getting captured in the first place -_

"I will _fucking_ kill that Druid _bitch_ ," Keith snarled under his breath, and then Lance realized Keith wasn't annoyed with him at all. He was mad at something else entirely, and Lance was glad it wasn't him - but the pain was making everything a lot harder to understand.

Keith had pulled his attention back to the situation and was looking down at Lance's ankle. His brow furrowed, and he looked back at Lance, his eyes going wide. "Stars, Lance, your right ankle's _broken_ \- I can't even _believe_ you thought you could put _weight_ on that -"

\- _stupid - worthless - weak - annoying -_

"…'m sorry…" Lance said, and when he saw Keith look into his face again, Lance cringed and looked at the floor.

 _Oh, man, I messed up again - I always mess up -_

But when Keith spoke, his words weren't malicious, or cruel, or mocking. He sounded like he was phrasing his words really, really carefully, even as he started moving them towards the door of the cell.

"Lance, _no one_ can walk on a broken ankle. You're _not_ stupid. You're just - insanely stubborn. And maybe - okay - _really_ \- over-confident in your own ability to - uh - 'power through the pain'- "

Lance blinked at that.

"…uh…I am...?"

Keith half-snorted and took a better grip on Lance's arm that lay over his shoulders as they reached the door. "Lance, take it from someone who's _mastered_ the art of being a red shirt."

The Red Paladin shot his friend a half-smile as he laid one mostly clawed hand on the panel that would open the door.

 _He must have made his hands look as Galra as possible to get through the Druids ship unnoticed -_

"Now come on - I'm getting you out of here."

* * *

Lance had to blink back tears as they started to move out of the cell, down the dimly lit corridors.

 _Keith doesn't think I'm stupid._

 _But I am - I_ _ **am**_ _stupid. I got captured because I fell for Haggar's trap. I should have been faster - smarter - stronger - I should have been - I should have been - better - somehow -_

Keith seemed to guess what he was thinking, and he swore under his breath, and for a second, Lance thought Keith was annoyed because Lance was being _slow_ , was being _worthless_ \- because that's what Lance felt he was - that's how he always felt when it came to these kinds of situations -

Then Keith opened the door into another cell - an empty one - and they ducked into it to avoid a passing sentry.

As they hid, Keith said something that took Lance by surprise.

"Lance, you got captured because that bitch is smart, and nasty, and knows how to push your buttons - it's not because you're - "

Then he broke off as a different sentry passed by, but once they started moving down the corridor again, Keith hissed out more words that Lance had a hard time believing.

"- it's _not_ because - you were stupid - or anything - and - uh - the illusion spell - it worked on _all_ of us - that one time - so - uh - yeah - whatever she said to you - it's complete and utter bullshit - um - "

"…'s _not_ …though…" Lance said, tiredly. They'd ducked into an empty corridor to avoid a second pair of sentries, and now Keith was looking at him like Lance was bleeding out from a stomach wound, and Keith wanted to help, but didn't know _how_ to help.

The Red Paladin cursed under his breath again, seemingly at himself.

" _Damn it_ , I suck at this - Shiro could say it _way_ better - "

Lance looked over at Keith, and then, he felt a horrible, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The Red Paladin really wasn't the type of person to talk about things like this during an escape attempt.

Lance must look _really_ bad.

Or…

Or it this was another illusion, another attempt to get Lance to give up the Blue Lion.

Lance ground his jaw and felt sudden pain swell in his heart.

No. No, he wasn't going to fall for that.

* * *

As Lance tried to shift his weight so that he wasn't relying solely on Keith for support, Keith - or not-Keith - readjusted his stance so that Lance was still keeping weight off his broken ankle, and he looked confused.

"What are you-"

"…how do I know you're _actually_ Keith?" Lance asked.

" _W-what_?!"

Keith - or not-Keith - looked _really_ worried now, but that might be fake concern.

If this was an illusion, Lance might not actually be escaping, and if that was the case, his friend wasn't actually saying these things…and if this wasn't his friend - Lance didn't think he could take it. Whatever remained of his sanity would crack and shatter, right here, right now.

If this was an illusion, it was the cruelest one yet, because it was mimicked his friend so very, _very_ well. Keith - or not-Keith - was looking at Lance, and he seemed to grow absolutely desperate at the way Lance was looking at him right now.

"- _dammit_ , Lance, what do I need to say to prove to you it's actually me?!"

"…tell me something…only Keith would know…" Lance said, trying not to think about how much pain he was feeling. His entire body felt like a professional boxer had just finished using him as a punching bag, but it was his heart that hurt the most.

He _wanted_ this to be his friend, but he couldn't just _believe_ that it was his friend. He couldn't take the chance. Not with Blue's safety on the line.

Keith sighed, shrugged, and nodded, looking mostly resigned now.

"Okay, okay, _fine_."

He started listing the lyrics to a song that Lance had used once, back when he and Hunk had rescued Keith from a cold, dark cave where he'd been left to die.

"…we need…someone to lean on…"

Lance narrowed his eyes and decided it was worth double-checking, just to be safe. Also, if this really _was_ Keith, he'd be _super_ annoyed at having to sing it.

 _Heh_.

"…mm-hmm…do the refrain…"

Keith - Lance was pretty sure it was Keith now - huffed and glared at him.

"Oh, _stars_ , Lance, _fine_!"

Keith did do the whole refrain, and then despite all the fear and uncertainty of the moment before, Lance knew that this really _was_ his friend. He felt his muscles release tension he hadn't realized they still held in, and Keith had to wrap his free arm around Lance's shoulders again as the Blue Paladin sagged against him for a second time in utter relief and complete exhaustion.

" _Shit_ , Lance, I have _got_ to get you out of here - "

"…hah…hah…made you sing…"

"I am _absolutely_ getting you back for that once we get back to the Castle - that's a _promise_ \- "

Then they heard faint footsteps beginning to come down the corridor, and Keith tightened his grip on Lance's shoulders, speaking low and fast.

"Okay, look, I'm going to teleport us to Blue. Once we're there, you get us in through the particle barrier. I'm help you into the pilot's seat, and then I'm going to get to a control panel and airlock us out together. Red's waiting for me nearby - but more importantly, you and Blue have _got_ to get the _fuck_ out of dodge. Coran and Allura say that you and Blue both need medical attention, stat - "

As he spoke, Lance felt Keith press something into the palm of his right hand. "That's a data chip for you to give Blue. It's a tracking beacon - the Castle's watching for it. The _second_ you activate it, they'll come and get you, and wormhole out. I have one too - so don't worry about me, or Red. We'll be fine. Just fly Blue away from the ship, and activate the chip. Everyone's waiting for you."

Lance nodded. "…okay…I think…I can do that…"

Keith looked Lance straight in the face then, and Lance realized that his friend really, _really_ meant what he said next.

"You _have_ to, Lance. We need you make it out of here. We need your nerdy jokes and your crazy references and - just - you have to make it out, okay?"

Lance still heard echoes of the witch's words, _**useless**_ _-_ _ **stupid**_ _-_ _ **worthless**_ _-_ _ **foolish**_ _-_ _ **child**_ , but he made an effort, and ignored them. He half-grinned over at his friend, and although he must have looked like death warmed over, he saw Keith bristle at what he said next.

"…right…okay…mother hen…"

"I _could_ just drop you, you know -"

Then the footsteps were close, close enough where Lance could feel the faint vibrations of them through the floor, and Keith said, all pretense of joking gone from his voice,

"And - _now_!"

* * *

Then there was blackness all around them, a sense of falling, then a sudden stop, and then Lance saw his beautiful, wonderful, gorgeous Lion in front of them, her blue particle barrier shimmering and glowing like moonlight on the ocean.

Then Keith was telling him to let down the particle barrier, _nownownow,_ and Lance reached out a hand and knocked lightly on the shimmering blue dome, just like he had all that time ago, in a cave back on Earth.

Lance had never really told anyone, but the first words he'd said to Blue - when he'd knocked all that time ago - was just a simple greeting.

 _Hi - there_.

He thought the same words to her as he reached out and knocked now, because that was his signal to Blue that it was okay for her open the barrier, just a little this time, just enough to let him and Keith in.

When his knuckles touched the blue dome, a sapphire spark shimmered and glittered for an instant, and then a small opening - just large enough for two people to fit through at the same time - opened up.

Immediately Keith, who was still supporting Lance, darted through, and it was a good thing Keith was literally faster than lighting, because the second they were through, Blue sealed the opening behind them and then there _was_ black lighting that screamed and howled against the barrier.

Knowing they had barely escaped death, Lance felt his heart begin to pound, and then he heard his Lion cry out in joy at his return.

 _ **My Pilot!**_

"Hey, beautiful," he said, and he really, _really_ wanted to just pass out then, but Keith was helping him get up the ramp, and Lance figured it was only fair for him to help Keith out as much as he could, so he hopped enough where Keith didn't have to pull him all the way.

As Blue connected fully with his mind, Lance felt her joy swirl and merge with rage at how he had been hurt in so many ways, and especially how the witch had told him was _utterly_ _replaceable_.

 **LIES, MY PILOT. COMPLETE LIES.**

"..it really helps to hear that you think so…" Lance muttered, and Keith shot him a grim half-smile as he helped Lance get into the pilot's seat.

"Lance, just - come on, listen to your Lion already," Keith said, and Lance had to laugh at how Keith had guessed what the Blue Lion was saying, and agreed whole-heartedly with her.

Then Keith glanced out of Blue's main view screens and snarled at the sight of Haggar, still firing black lightening at the particle barrier. She was screaming something - some sort of chant, maybe?

"You think she's ever _not_ firing black lighting at us every chance she gets? I swear, it's like she practices this in the mirror every morning or something-"

Lance shrugged at Keith's question. Whatever. The crazy magic lady was _definitely_ pissed that the Blue Paladin and his Lion were only seconds away from escape.

He swallowed, uncertain as to why he had this out-of-nowhere, pounding headache, and tried to make a joke.

"H-hey…Keith…I think this makes us…the W-weasley twins…"

Keith glanced down at him and blinked. "Wha-oh, right, they pulled that epic escape - speaking of which - we _definitely_ need to get out of-"

But then Lance felt something - something inside his chest - begin to hurt - oh - god - _oh god oh god oh god_ \- it really, _really_ hurt -

Keith realized something was seriously wrong, and had whirled to come back and stand in front of Lance, and his eyes were scared, even though he tried to keep the fear out of his voice.

"Lance - _Lance_ \- what's wrong - what's _wrong_ \- "

Lance _tried_ to breathe in, and then to breathe out, steadily, calmly, trying to just - work through the pain - but - it felt like - like someone was trying to drain away his life -

 _\- that was a weird way of putting it - why would he think it felt that way -_

"…uh…" Lance said, because that was all he could manage at the moment. "- I - I - don't - "

 _ **My pilot?!**_

Keith's had gone completely pale now, and he was saying something, but then Keith was falling over - wait - what was - going on-

Lance only realized _he'd_ been the one to fall - right out of his pilot's chair - when Keith caught his head the second before it slammed against the floor.

" _ **Lance**_!"

Now Keith was kneeling down on the floor by him, looking lost and scared and asking what was wrong - what was wrong - please, Lance, _I need to know what's wrong_ -

"…it…it _hurts_ …" Lance said, and he tried not to say anything else, he _tried_ to keep from screaming as the pain worsened - that's what brave people did, right - they- they - hid the pain - or just - m-made - jokes - about it - _oh, god_ -

It hurt - _it hurt_ \- he couldn't pretend it didn't anymore - he wasn't strong enough to pretend it didn't - he couldn't laugh at this - he couldn't - it hurt - it _hurt_ -

Lance wished he could say something more, but all he could do was scream.

* * *

Keith was able to keep Lance from hitting his head when he fell - barely - but then Lance was screaming, screaming and thrashing in pain as if someone were draining his life force away -

"Lance! _Lance_ \- _what did she do to you_ \- "

"-it-it _hurts_ -"

" _LANCE_!"

Then Lance was shaking like he was having a seizure, so Keith tried to make sure Lance didn't hurt his head or bite his tongue by turning him onto his side, but oh, god, he didn't know what to do for this - this was something the witch had done - Keith could _sense_ it-

Then Blue was roaring in blind rage and pain, and Keith dimly sensed she was trying to tell them something - something _really_ important about - quintessence - being drained -

But Keith couldn't _understand_ Blue, he couldn't understand her clearly, the way he could understand - wait - Red - Red would know what to do.

Keith called out to his Lion, hoping that Red would be still able to answer him from this distance, now that Keith was with Blue. Keith wasn't sure how the Lion's connections worked, but he hoped that maybe - just maybe - it would be strong enough for the four of them to communicate.

 **RED! RED - WHAT'S WRONG WITH LANCE?!**

Blue's roars of fury and panic rose in volume, and Keith could sense the two Lions were speaking with each other.

When Red answered Keith a moment later, Keith heard fury, and terror, and rage in his Lion's voice such as he had only heard once before.

 **The witch has placed a spell upon Blue's Paladin - and upon her as well -**

Keith looked outside Blue's main view-screen and realized that Haggar was still hitting the particle barrier with that damn black lighting - the same kind that had hurt Shiro so badly, all that time ago -

 **\- Haggar seeks to drain their quintessence through the Paladin's link with his Lion - so that she may take both of their quintessences simultaneously -**

Oh fuck - when the lightning hit the particle barrier, it was - basically - striking Lance and Blue together - oh _fuck -_

That was one _fucking_ _powerful_ spell.

If it went on long enough, it could kill both a Lion _and_ their Paladin.

Keith hadn't known that was even possible - stars - okay - that was it - Haggar _really_ needed to die -

Then the black lighting stopped slamming against Blue's particle barrier, and Lance stopped shaking as if he was a puppet whose strings had just been cut. He went completely limp, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath, his face screwed up in pain. He was whimpering and didn't seem able to open his eyes.

Dimly, Keith heard Blue moan in pain as well, and Red snarled in fury at how badly injured his old comrade was. Keith knew the feeling. He wanted to _kill_ Haggar, he wanted to _tear her to pieces_ for doing this to his friend, but with an effort, he forced himself to focus.

 _Help Lance now._

 _Kill Haggar later._

 _Help Lance now._

Then Lance began to cry, and Keith tried to help Lance know he wasn't alone by holding one of Lance's hand in both of his.

Damn, he sucked at this comforting thing - Hunk would be way better at it - or Shiro - or Pidge - really, _anyone_ but Keith. Keith was _not_ good at this kind of thing, not at _all_. Usually, that fact didn't bother him.

But now, Lance was looking up at him, clearly scared and confused, still trying catch his breath, still crying because he was in so much pain. Dammit, Keith hated to see Lance hurt this badly.

"… _K-Keith_ …?"

With an effort, Keith kept his voice steady as he replied, patting Lance's shoulder awkwardly.

 _Hunk would be_ _ **so**_ _much better at this -_

"Yeah, Lance, I'm here - it's - uh - it's - okay -"

"…w-what's…h-happening…?"

Keith swallowed and made sure he wasn't gripping Lance's hand too tightly. His fingernails had long since taken on more claw-like form than normal, and Keith _really_ didn't want to hurt his friend by accident. It was all too easy for him to lose control of his strength when he was feeling panicked and afraid like this.

"Lance, listen, Red says that - the Druids put a spell on you - and Blue - but I'm - I'm going to try and figure out what to d- "

Then another voice was echoing in their ears, and Keith realized the witch was using her magic to make her voice heard through the particle barrier.

"I don't know **how** you managed to get back to your Lion, Blue Paladin, but I assure you, you will **never** leave here alive. If your Lion makes a movement of any kind, I shall strike again. Believe me when I say that there will be no need for me to strike a third time."

She laughed, and her voice faded away, leaving only silence behind.

Keith ground his teeth. He was getting pretty damn annoyed whenever she did that.

* * *

At the sound of Haggar's voice, Lance whimpered and rolled onto his left side, trying to curl up into a ball to make himself a smaller target. Keith tried to rub his friend's shoulder in an attempt at reassurance, but Lance just squeezed his eyes tight shut and covered his ears with his hands, and kept them there even after the witch's voice had faded completely away.

After that, when Keith tried to help Lance sit up, Lance only whimpered and curled into himself tighter, afraid of anything and everything around him, and Keith flinched back, feeling stupid and angry with himself.

 _Damn it, how could he help Lance?_

 _ **How**_ _?_

Blue was weak, but Keith could sense that she was purring, obviously attempting to reassure her Paladin. Keith was glad she was, because he sure as hell wasn't able to give any kind of comfort to his friend at the moment.

Right now, he just wanted to kill something.

More specifically, _someone_.

Keith looked up again through Blue's main viewscreens, and he saw the way Haggar just _stood_ there in front of the particle barrier, _smiling_ up at the Blue Lion, at the Paladin she'd hurt so badly. Keith bared his teeth down her - it wasn't like she could see or hear them in here, but damn it, it was the principle of the gesture that mattered.

He had _never_ wanted to reach out and snap someone's neck so badly as he did in this instant. He felt his hands begin to shake, but felt no surprise that they should do so. He'd begun to quiver from head to foot, and he was familiar with the signs of a rising fury. All the same, he'd never felt it quite like this before.

Keith had felt anger before. He'd felt it countless times. It was something he lived with, something he controlled and channeled every day. He controlled it. It did not control him

\- _patience - yields - focus -_

On more than one occasion, Keith had even felt rage, _especially_ when Garrison lied about the crash on Kerberos, and again, when he thought his friends' shuttle had been shot out of the sky, leaving him all alone.

 _Patience - yields -_

But this was the first time Keith thought he truly understood what the word _**wrath**_ meant.

 _Patienc-_

 _ **No. Not this time.**_

Keith realized he'd risen to his feet and was glaring down at the witch who could not see him.

But she would soon enough.

 _Haggar had hurt Lance, and now, Lance was in horrible pain. He might even die, and Keith couldn't help him._

 _Keith's friend was in_ _ **pain**_ _and might_ _ **die**_ _because_ _ **Haggar**_ _had done this to him._

So, _Haggar needed to die_.

 _She needed to die,_ _ **now**_ _._

 _Any method of killing was acceptable, as long as it got the job done._

 _Yes. Now was as good a time as any._

 _It was_ _ **long**_ _past time to burn the witch._

Red was callling to him, urgently, but Keith couldn't really make out the words his Lion was saying.

 _That was okay._

 _He would listen to Red afterwards._

 _This wouldn't take long._

 _Not long at all._

Keith felt it when the fire begin to flicker into life on his palms, and he straightened his arms out, flexing his fingers and glancing down at them in a business-like manner.

Yep, there were the claws he'd come to expect whenever he got really pissed off, but they were full-on _talons_ this time, curved and black and _sharp_.

 _Good. I'm going to need them._

Oh, that was right. He probably had fangs now, too.

Keith smiled then, mostly to himself. It wasn't a nice expression.

How did that old nursery rhyme go again…?

… _what sharp teeth you have…_

Everything other than the wrath inside him had mostly faded away now, and he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, taking in a deep breath.

 _ **Right**_ _. Time to kill Haggar._

The Red Paladin had already turned and taken a step towards the door when he heard a weak voice say his name.

That voice was the only thing in the _universe_ that could have cut through the fire Keith saw in his vision, felt in his chest, flickered on his fingertips and in his palms, ready to burn everything that stood in his way.

But _Lance_ had _called_ his _name_ , and Keith knew that when a friend said your name, you damn well listened to what they had to say.

That was part of being a friend.

With an effort, Keith stopped moving forward, turned, and listened to Lance.

Killing Haggar could wait.

Lance was more important.


	5. Balance

As Blue told him that it was all right, and that he that wasn't alone, that they _would_ find a way to get out of this together, Lance felt some measure of strength return to him.

"…kay….Blue…" he managed to whisper, and then he felt Blue stir in some concern and reply to - wait - why was _Red_ freaking out now?

… _oh…dear…_ Blue sighed, and then she gently gave Lance the mental equivalent of gentle nudge with her nose.

… _my Paladin…you must speak to your friend…in his concern for you, he is about to do something-ah-how shall I put it-_

 **INSANELY STUPID!**

Wow, even Lance had been able to hear Red there. Keith must be about to pull some serious red-shirt shit.

Blue sighed and finished her thought.

… _quite foolish…_

Lance braced himself, and he opened his eyes just in time to see the way Keith's face had settled into the 'oh-that-bitch-is- _dead_ ' mode.

Lance hadn't actually realized Keith could look quite so…cold….and still be on fire. Talk about contrasts.

To be honest, if Lance hadn't known Keith was his friend, he might have found it kinda scary. Even so, despite the 'scare' factor, Lance felt a mixture of satisfaction and gladness that the Red Paladin was on his side in this fight, but he needed - he needed to make sure Keith - didn't go and die - because - that wouldn't be good - besides, Lance had something to ask him -

"…K-Keith…" he said, and when he saw his friend turn back towards him, he swallowed and kept talking, even though it took a lot of energy to do so. Way more than it…normally should have.

Every thought felt like…running a marathan…he wanted to make it to the end, but it was a struggle all the way…and same thing went for sentences, now, too…

"…l- uh...look…if…if…uh…I don't…make it…"

Keith froze in place, and his eyes were wide and yellow and fixed onto Lance's face in an expression of fear and concern. He didn't look cold or intent on killing someone anymore - he looked a lot more like his usual self, just with really sharp teeth and really sharp claws and yellow eyes.

That was good. Lance wanted to ask his _friend_ for this favor, not the Hulk-ed out version of his friend. Technically, both were the same guy…sure…but…Lance was pretty sure this more approachable side of Keith was the person to ask for this kind of thing.

"…t-try…and…t-take care…of Blue f-for me…okay?"

At that, Keith took two halting steps backwards and crashed against one of Blue's control panels, but it wasn't funny at all, because Keith was looking at Lance like the Blue Paladin had just said he was dying from hemlock poisoning, and he seemed completely lost for words.

Lance didn't want his friend to be sad about this…and he _really_ didn't want to think about how sad Hunk or Beyris would be if he didn't make it out, or how devastated his family would be if…

 _\- oh, stars - his family -_

Keith was still looking at him in that same, horrified, frozen way, and now the Red Paladin had clenched both his hands into fists by his sides. He seemed to be trying to control his breathing, and his eyes were now mostly back to their usual dark color.

"…a-and…there's…a letter…back in my room…on the Castle…for my mom…so…"

But then Keith was shaking his head emphatically from side to side. His canines were still sharper than usual, but he sounded completely like his usual self when he spoke.

"Uh-uh. _Nope_. No way in Hell. Lance, I won't promise to do that."

Lance wrinkled his nose and felt _annoyed_ at Keith's seemingly outright refusal to help Lance do something _important_. Frowning, the Blue Paladin levered himself into a half-way sitting position, glaring at his friend.

Damn, it still really hurt to move, but he _was_ _really_ _annoyed_ now. That gave him energy he hadn't realized he still had.

"Don't - don't be a _dick_ \- Keith - come on -"

Keith pointed at Lance then, realized his hands were still on fire, and made an annoyed sound, and it sounded like a growl.

"Argh, _dammit_ , freaking firepowers - not now, _dammit - "_

Keith breathed out once more and tried to bring the fire back under control. After a few seconds, he snarled and shook his hands impatiently, but in doing so, he slammed one of his still-on-fire hands against the side of one of Blue's panels. Thankfully, it didn't do any real damage.

"- oh, _shit_ , sorry, Blue - "

Okay, in all honesty, if Lance had been feeling at _all_ like his usual self, he would have roared with laughter at the way Keith looked right now.

Then the Red Paladin swore - again - and tried to subdue the flames once more. This time, the flames did go out completely, and Keith pointed at Lance again. When he spoke, his voice was shaking, and Lance realized that Keith was trying to keep his voice from breaking.

"Do you _realize_ what you're asking me to promise?! Damn it, Lance, _**no**_!"

Lance opened his mouth to respond, but Keith continued, and Lance realized that his friend wasn't refusing to help him - he was - just -

"I'm _not_ going to just - blindly promise - to do that - because I'm _not_ fucking giving up on you - or Blue - okay?!"

Oh.

Lance felt his irritation die away.

Keith wasn't refusing to help him.

He was just refusing to consider this a lost cause.

Granted, he wasn't saying it especially well, but then again, it wasn't like Lance was great at saying what he meant all the time, either.

Lance realized that this sort of arguing was - strangely familiar - and sort of comforting.

It was what they did.

He and Keith _always_ got on each other's nerves.

It was what family did.

Hehe, it really was.

Keith was still trying to catch his breath, and he'd just swiped a sleeve angrily across his eyes.

"So don't fucking ask me that again! _Ever_!"

* * *

Lance figured he understood, but he was feeling sick again, and he _really_ wanted to lie back down, so he decided to try and make a joke while he did it. Hell, if he really were dying - and it sure felt like that might happen at any second - he might as well go out being funny, if he could manage it.

He managed to give another annoying, pleased-as-punch-with-myself-grin up at Keith.

"…w-what…you got…a problem with…my Blue?"

Lance was feeling _really_ dizzy now, and he didn't think he should sit up anymore, so he sort of flopped back down on his side and patted one of Blue's floor panels affectionally, like it was a cat. He meant to do it more than once, but after the first pat, he found he didn't have the energy to raise his hand again.

That was okay…Blue knew what he meant…

"…'s…okay, Blue… _I think…_ you're… _awesome_ …"

While she was also losing strength at the same rate he was, Blue realized what he was doing, and decided to join in.

Lance found himself smiling to himself in delight as his Lion made a fake, huffy sound as if she were tossing her head, highly _insulted_ at the thought of Keith not liking her.

It took both Keith and Red a second to see that both the Blue Lion and her Paladin were trying to lighten the situation, and when they did, both Lance and Blue chuckled weakly at the their friend's reactions, because in all honesty, they were _priceless_.

Keith spat something he never would have said in front of Beyris and nearly pulled out two handfuls of his hair, and _both_ the Paladins could hear Red bellowing at Blue in something resembling annoyance, exasperated affection and desperate concern.

Neither Keith or Red were _actually_ mad at Lance or Blue - they were both just - _really_ going out of their minds with worry and expressing that worry _loudly_ and with _feeling_.

"God DAMMIT, Lance, you can't just _joke_ about your death like this-"

 _ **BLUE - I AM NOT AMUSED - NOT EVEN A LITTLE -**_ _**WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS DO THIS WHEN YOU ARE IN DANGER -**_

Lance looked up at Keith and tried to smile again. He would have shrugged, but he couldn't even raise his head now.

He didn't want his friend to be sad, or scared…that's why he'd tried to make a joke in the first place…

"…'m sorry…Keith…couldn't…help…myself…"

Lance found he no longer had the energy to keep his eyes open. From somewhere nearby, he heard Keith swear again and drop onto his knees, back onto the floor, and then Lance felt his friend grab him by the shoulders and try to shake him awake.

"…Lance… _Lance_! _Lance, come on,_ _ **open your eyes**_!"

Lance tried to open his eyes, but he literally could not manage it. He could barely hear himself mumble.

"…can't…'m just… _really_ …tired…"

Lance felt a little confused then, because it felt like Keith was hugging him now - nah, he had to be delirious - Keith hardly ever hugged anyone - it just wasn't something he did - like, _ever_ -

"Lance, no! _Lance_! _**Lance**_! You can't do this - don't do this - _please_ \- come on, _wake up_ \- "

Then Lance heard Blue, and she was saying something to Red…something about being glad they were friends…

 _Good old Blue._

 _At least_ _ **she**_ _knew what to say._

Maybe Red...could tell Keith...that Lance had felt the same way...Blue did…later…after...

"…'m…sorry…"

"DON'T BE SORRY - BE AWAKE!"

Lance _really_ did want to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy…and he hurt all over…and he just really didn't have any energy left at all…

"LANCE!"

Dimly, Lance heard a roaring, raging scream of loss and fear and pain, and he thought it must be Red, or Keith, or both…

Now Lance felt like he was falling.

…oh…that couldn't…be…good…

* * *

From far away, he heard Keith's voice again, and it wasn't mad at all. It was just really, _really_ scared.

" _ **Lance**_ \- come _**on**_ \- wake _**up**_ -"

Then there was a sharp, stinging pain on one side of Lance's face.

Out of utter shock, he felt himself abruptly stop falling and jolt back to his senses.

He didn't open his eyes yet - he was still pretty dizzy - but he definitely was back in his body.

Okay then.

He had just had an out of body experience...which...given the circumstances, probably also qualified as a near-death experience, too.

Was there….maybe some sort of checklist…for those..?

Lance realized that he was sitting up now - though the only reason he was sitting upright _at all_ was because he was propped with his back against something - oh, the wall of the pilot's cabin, right - Keith was in front of him, holding him upright by both shoulders, and _still_ shaking him furiously.

" _Dammit_ , Lance, I am _not_ letting you die on me!"

Keith sounded…well, not mad…really…but…scared…and it even sounded like he might have been crying…

"…damn it, _Lance_ , come on - _say something_! An joke! An insult! Hell, I'll take a one-liner! JUST SAY SOMETHING!"

Yikes, Keith must _really_ want Lance to start talking.

Lance opened his eyes to see Keith glaring at him, his yellow-flecked eyes shining with something more than just the light, and Keith jumped as if he'd been shot.

When Lance found his voice again, it sounded weak and raspy, but it was his own.

"…what…the…"

The Blue Paladin blinked and raised a hand to his face.

"…did you…just… _slap_ me?"

Keith growled an answer and seemed to shrink away from Lance's question at the same time, like he hated himself for having done that.

"Look, Lance, it was that or punch you, and I _really_ didn't want to break your one of your ribs by accident-"

"…ugh…yeah…well…" Lance coughed and tried to remember what they had been talking about before Keith had started shaking him. He still felt _exhausted_ -

Keith must have seen that, because he started talking again, way, _way_ more than he usually did-

"Okay, look, you were - you and Blue were out of it - for a while - but Red's gone off to tell the others what's happened - and - and they're going to try and come up with a plan to fix it - but in the meantime, we've _got_ to try and get you and Blue out of this ship - can you understand that?"

"…uh-huh.."

"We know the witch doesn't know that I'm here - that's about the _only_ thing going for us right now - but if we move Blue - at all - she'll hit you two with that lightening again - and Red isn't sure either of you could take another shot and still make it out of here -"

"…oh…'s…not…great…"

Lance felt his eyes droop and his head sag forward, and he heard Keith curse, but Keith wasn't shaking him that hard anymore. The Red Paladin actually sounded closer to tears than Lance ever remembered hearing him.

" _Lance_! Come on, buddy - open your eyes - come on - I need you to stay with me - _please, Lance_ \- "

Lance raised his head and shrugged one shoulder.

"…'m _trying_ …but…it's…"

Lance saw Keith bit his lip, look around the cabin for inspiration.

"…what…" Lance said, feeling a half-smile cross his face. "…you…still…checkin'…out…my beautiful Blue…?"

Keith jumped in place again and seemed to be completely flustered for a second.

"…oh, _God_ , Lance, not _that_ again - "

Lance felt his Lion give a very weak chuckle, and he went on, enjoying the way he could feel Blue's laughter at the joke.

"…geez…Keith…you…really…should…just…stop…being…so jealous…of me… _geez_ …Red's…gonna…be…all…super….touchy…if…you…start thinkin'…'bout…piloting…a different…Lion…"

Lance thought he saw Keith sniff and wipe at his face with the heel of one hand at that remark, and the Blue Paldadin felt curious.

"…waz…that…'bout…?" he asked, and Keith shook his head as he replied, scowling.

"…just something Shiro said, awhile back…"

"…oh…?"

Keith looked at Lance, and when he spoke, his voice was wry and completely devoid of anything even remotely resembling excitement. "Apparently _I'm_ the guy to come to if someone thinks they won't make it out of a fight."

"…oh…" Lance didn't really know what to say to that.

Come to think about it…Keith had a track record of putting himself in harms way to protect those he cared about.

It would make…a lot of sense…that Keith would much rather _take_ a bullet then lose someone he cared for.

No wonder Keith had freaked the fuck out when Lance asked him to take care of Blue. At that, Lance felt his mind wander, and he chuckled.

"…haha…"

Keith looked confused.

"Lance, what is it? What's so funny?"

Lance let his head fall back against the wall, so he could stare up at the ceiling.

"…should…give…you…a…nickname…"

Keith's voice took on a wry tone again, but it was interested. "Oh, _great_ \- what did you have in mind?"

Lance screwed his face up in concentration.

"…how 'bout…Hothead?"

Keith shook his head, once, vehemently. "Nope. Reminds me of gradeschool. I _hated_ gradeschool. Actually, scratch that. I hated almost every school I went to."

"…uh…how…'bout…Pyro…?"

"Katie beat you to that one."

"Damn."

"Yeah, but I guess it fits…I mean…sort of…"

Lance felt like he was only moments away from passing out again, but he tried to keep up the light tone of conversation.

"…hahaha…hey…since Shiro…and I…both asked…you to…take care of…our Lions…we…could call you…Zookeeper…or…maybe…Lion…tamer…"

Keith snorted at that. "Gee, _thanks_ , but no, I'll pass. Anyway, how could I _possibly_ pilot three Lions at one time?"

Lance chuckled. "…hehe…I guess…you could teleport…back and forth between…pilot seats…if you had to…"

Keith's laughed at that too. "Hah! No, I don't think that would work very well - it's not like I can be three places at the same time - "

Then Keith's jaw dropped open and he stared at Lance, his eyes going wide.

* * *

Lance didn't get it. "…what…?…Keith…what is it?"

A slow smile was spreading across Keith's face, one that Lance had never seen before. It was almost unnerving _,_ to see Keith so absolutely satisfied with an idea, and also so completely delighted, like a kid in a candy store, because Keith just didn't look that - happy - all that often - or smug - or - somehow - really really pleased with himself -

"…Keith… _what_?"

But Keith just kept grinning like an idiot, and Lance felt some slight annoyance at not being told what the hell his friend was thinking of. He shifted his posture slightly, trying to get more comfortable, but that was out of the question.

"….dude…if you're telling me…you could have transported us to Red…there is _no_ way…in _hell_ …that I would _ever_ …leave Blue behind…"

Keith blinked and looked completely affronted. "What?! No, no of course I wouldn't tell you to leave Blue behind to Haggar! What the _hell_ kind of Paladin would do _that_?!"

 _Not a very good one_ , Blue supplied wryly, but Lance could tell his Lion was genuinely amused at the very concept of Lance ever leaving her behind to face the Druids alone, or of Keith ever suggesting such a thing.

 _Fear not, my pilot - your friend - and mine - would_ _ **never**_ _condone such an action. They are loyalty incarnate - as well as stubbornness - and impulsiveness - which is sometimes_ _ **quite**_ _irritating - but they are our true friends nonetheless -_

"…so…what's with the look of the cat who ate the canary…?" Lance asked, and the grin spread across Keith's face again.

"You ever see that show Naruto? With the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Lance frowned, trying to remember. "…uh…I'm…not sure…"

Keith's grin was one of complete satisfaction, and it also looked just a little crazy.

- _maybe getting insane escape ideas from anime shows did that to you - eventually -_

Then Keith was talking, and Lance forced himself to listen. This was probably important.

"-basically, I think I can copy what Haggar did when she ambushed Shiro - that time we rescued Allura-"

Lance thought back to what Hunk had told them while Shiro had been in the healing pod.

"She…made copies of herself…right? And…it confused…the person she was fighting…?"

Keith nodded. "I've been practicing magic with Allura - you know - when we can spare the time - and I think I can teleport fast enough to seem like there's more than one enemy attacking at a time -"

Lance raised an eyebrow in a concerned manner.

"…you… _think_ …you can?"

Keith felt like snapping "You got a _better_ idea, Aquaman?!" but he refrained.

"Yes, I _can_ ," Keith said, and he _made_ his voice sound confident, _be_ confident, because that was what was needed now, confidence and a plan and immediate action.

Lance was awake now - sort of - but he still looked grey and sick, and from the absolute panic he'd felt earlier from Red, Blue wasn't in much better shape.

Red and Keith thought that the spell Haggar had put on Lance and Blue was something she had made recently - most likely after their last escape from Zarkon.

It wasn't a strict 'corruption spell', which was what happened to the quintessence when the Druids took it from a planet and turned it into that purple fuel stuff.

Instead, this spell seemed to tie a _specific_ Paladin's life to his - or her - Lion, and if _one_ was attacked, the _other's_ quintessence shared in the effects of that attack. That was why, when Haggar had attacked the particle barrier and begun her chant, the effects on Blue and Lance were as if they were each taking the lighting instead.

Haggar had exploited a critical weak point, and it was terrifying to see the effects of it.

This spell used the strength of the bond between a Lion and its Paladin, only to use that same bond _against_ both of them. When one was injured, the other felt it, and as a result, each was far more vulnerable to attack.

The possible ramifications of this spell were _astronomically_ bad, and Red had been almost incomprehensible with worry for his fellow Lion.

 **\- Blue's shields - they will not deflect harm as they should - we saw that earlier with the black lightening - and it is likely that even being** _ **near**_ **this witch is continuing to drain their quintessence - my Paladin, we** _ **must**_ **get them out of that ship as soon as possible -**

 _I know, Red_ , Keith had said. _I understand, I do -_

 **If the witch even strikes once more - it could be fatal - my Paladin - please - I cannot - I cannot lose Blue -** _ **please**_ **-**

Then Lance and Blue had made that stupid, stupid joke, and Keith and Red had seen and _felt_ it when their friends began to - to fade.

There had been no other word for it.

God, that had been terrifying, watching his friend start to slip away in front of him.

Keith never wanted to see that again.

Ever.

Red's scream of complete panic and fear had almost drowned out Keith's own.

 **BLUE! BLUE - PLEASE - ANSWER ME!**

"…oh _shit_ …Lance… _Lance_!"

At that point, Red had been less than five tics away from attacking the Druids ship head-on in an effort to wake Blue up when Keith had finally managed to get Lance to open his eyes. That, and that alone, had prevented a full-on, Smaug-style, one-Lion charge on Haggar's ship which surely would have ended in disaster.

 _Dammit, Red_ _ **,**_ Keith snarled to his Lion, _you have_ _ **got**_ _to listen to me sometimes -_

 **Oh - like** _ **you**_ **listen even** _ **some**_ **of the time -**

 _HEY!_

But then Keith had needed to focus on keeping Lance and Blue awake, and Red had gone to find the others and warn them of this new weapon. The Castle would be ready and waiting to help Lance and Blue - Keith just had to get them all out of here, out of this ship and away from Haggar, and he had to do it while both Lance and Blue still had enough energy to move.

That meant he had to take action, now.

* * *

"Lance, listen. Have Blue let me in and out of the particle barrier - _just_ me - and I'll get us out of here. All you have to do once you're outside this ship is activate that tracking chip, okay?"

It took a few moments before Lance nodded in agreement, but when he did, it was with the first real energy Keith had seen since he'd found Lance in that awful, dark, tiny cell. He even had a defiant gleam to his eye.

"…Shiny…" he mumbled, and Keith grinned as he realized his friend was making a reference to one of the best tv shows of all time.

They finished it together.

"Let's be bad guys."

As Keith helped Lance into his pilot's chair, the Blue Paladin seemed to be thinking, hard.

"…technically…though…" he said, and he seemed intent on saying the thought out loud, despite the desperate need for haste, "…we _are_ the good guys…"

Keith grunted in reply and looked out of Blue's main viewscreen, towards where Haggar waited.

" _You_ may be good, Lance, but I'm _totally_ Chaotic Neutral."

Lance looked up at Keith, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh…my… _God_ … _you_ play Dungeons and Dragons?!"

Keith shrugged, shooting Lance a rare half-smile. "Not really."

Then a real, full grin crossed his face, and Lance realized that Keith was enjoying being absolutely mischevious when he said, "- but I have approximate knowledge of _many_ things."

With that, the Red Paladin vanished from the inside of Blue's cockpit.

Lance was left staring at the space where his friend had stood.

"…o….kay…" he said, and then he sighed, reaching out and patting Blue's control panel affectionately. It was a weak gesture, but he felt his Lion purr happily at it.

"Sometimes, I just don't get that guy…" he said, and Blue chuckled in reply.

 _My pilot, I have known Red for over ten thousand years…and I_ _ **still**_ _cannot guarantee what he will do or think on any given day._

Lance chuckled at that. "Yeah…that sounds about right for family."


	6. Shattered Illusions

Haggar tapped her foot with impatience. It was long past time for the Blue Paladin to attempt a last-minute, futile escape.

So why was the Blue Lion just _sitting_ there?!

She tapped her foot again, and muttered under her breath.

"…Lord Zarkon would not wish me to kill the Blue Lion without having a suitable replacement ready," she muttered to herself. "…still…I don't need to _kill_ the Blue Paladin…once I have him again, I can keep him…mostly alive…"

She half-smiled to herself. "Well…it would be worth seeing what I could do with him…more experiments would surely be in order…"

Then Haggar heard a contemptuous snort come from behind her, immediately followed by the sharp and angry words,

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, _witch_."

Haggar jumped three feet in the air, but when she turned around, there was no one there.

The same voice spoke again, this time, to her right.

"Sucks, huh?"

She whirled around again, black lightning crackling in her palm.

No one.

A chuckle from her left, an almost familiar sound.

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it?"

" _Ain't_?" she snarled, whirling around again, the question more to keep whatever fool was insulting her talking than anything else.

 _No one insulted her and lived._

" _Ain't_." The voice was behind her again, and it sounded cheerful, but also as if all the speaker _really_ wanted to do was kill her. "It's a funny word. Hard to pin down."

The which laughed darkly at that, letting the lighting strike out with its arcs in a whirling circle, seemingly at random, launching in every direction imaginable.

 _Dodge_ _ **this**_ _, fool._

The lightning faded away, and the witch turned slowly in a full circle, her eyes narrowed.

There should have been a scream when she hit her target. There was _always_ a scream, because she _always_ hit her -

Then the black lightning came right back at her, out of _nowhere_ , and she barely managed to teleport away before it burned and scorched the floor where she'd been standing.

"Who are you?!" she screamed, more out of puzzlement then any real fear. She was too astonished at the moment to feel true fear, and she had long since known that she could use her magic against any who defied her.

She was the only person that could fire that black lightening spell - and redirecting that lighting at her was _only_ something that a person with magical abilities could do - the Princess was nowhere near here - so then who in the universe could -

A dry laugh sounded then, and the witch realized the voice came from directly above her this time.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She glanced up to see a sword come at her from out of the darkness, and she hissed and reached up to catch it out of the air, to grab it's wielder's wrist and snap their neck like a twig, but just as the blade reached her, it vanished into nothingness.

The voice came again, louder this time, from everywhere and nowhere in the same instant, snarling with rage.

"You think you're the only one who's practiced illusion magic, _witch_?!"

More blades came at her, zinging out of the darkness, and Haggar dodged them all, beginning to take this opponent more seriously than she had before.

Haggar didn't know who her opponent was, but whoever they were, they were powerful, and clever, and _fast_.

As fast as her.

That shouldn't be possible.

 _How was that possible?_

Then she realized that she'd moved away from the Blue Lion, and she turned, raising a hand, to bring about the death of the Blue Lion of Voltron and her stupid, weak, _pathetic_ Paladin -

As she'd expected, at that gesture, there was a snarl, a glint of something in the darkness, and Haggar threw herself to one side barely in time to avoid a _real_ blade - one that would have killed her where she stood had she delayed an instant longer.

A curse, a glint of red armor in the darkness of the cargo bay, a very human cry of frustrated rage.

' **Damn it**! I _missed_!'

Haggar laughed and turned back towards the Blue Lion, but then the warning signals in the cargo bay went off, and she realized that the knife hadn't been meant for her.

She had been _a_ target.

Just not the _only_ one.

In the instant before she teleported out of the cargo bay and back into the safety of the main ship, she turned and saw a young man standing by the emergency airlock controls, the hilt of the knife that had missed her clutched in one fist. He'd slammed his other fist onto the button, and he was looking up at the Blue Lion with something Haggar couldn't find the words to describe.

It wasn't just pride.

It wasn't just triumph.

It wasn't…really anything she recognized.

But she recognized _him_.

He was the Red Paladin.

The one she'd called half-blood, all that time ago.

Time seemed to slow, and Haggar realized something she should have, a long, _long_ time ago, possibly as early as that first time she had called him that name.

The Red Paladin.

 _\- Champion's brother - by bond, if not in blood -_

Had magic.

Was as fast as her.

And had Galra blood in his veins.

 _\- no - that was - that was impossible -_

Just before the vacuum of space snatched him from her sight, he looked back over his shoulder at her, and he did something she didn't expect.

He grinned a wide, genuine, self-satisfied grin at her, and made the same gesture the Green Paladin had back when she had taken the Black Lion and that strange shuttlle-craft.

Haggar still didn't know what it meant, but she guessed it wasn't complimentary.

Then he shouted something, but she couldn't hear it, because in that instant, he, the Blue Lion, her Paladin, and anyone unlucky enough to be in that cargo bay went whirling away into space, and Haggar only just managed teleport out of danger and back to into the safety of the main ship.

* * *

She appeared on the main flight deck and screamed out orders, but that damned Red Paladin must have managed to sabotage the tractor beam mechanisms when he had snuck on board the ship earlier.

In the end, the Blue Lion and the two Paladins had just enough of a head start to evade her, and after searching the star system for hours, Haggar was forced to realize her quest was in vain.

The Castle had been able to take the Blue Lion - and the two Paladins with it - to safety.

When the captain of the ship came to report that the damage to the tractor beam had been fixed, he found Haggar in the empty cargo bay, staring at the emergency airlock with almost preoccupied expression on her face.

The captain gulped and began to sweat. Reporting to Haggar was always a tricky business. You either lived through it, or you didn't. There really was no in-between.

Haggar turned her head slightly at the sound of his feet shuffling on the floor, and he froze in place. He _really_ didn't want to get killed today.

"Set a course for the main fleet," Haggar said over her shoulder, and the captain saluted and left her there, still staring at the spot where the Red Paladin had stood.

Just as the bay doors opened, when he had turned and their eyes had met, the Red Paladin's helmet had obscured most of his face, so she wasn't certain her guess was right. But even from that distance, she thought that maybe - just maybe - his eyes had glittered with flecks of yellow.

If that were true - if he really _did_ have eyes that could change color - that meant he had shape-shifting abilities. Altean abilities. If he did…that would mean…something of great consequence.

She would have to look for that in his eyes, the next time their paths crossed.

She turned and left, heading back up towards the main control deck of the ship.

But at least for the moment, she would keep her suspicions to herself.

* * *

 _Author head-canon: What Keith shouted at Haggar right before he got spaced:_

 _"HOW COULD YOU MISS IT - I WAS THREE FEET FROM YOU!"_

 _That's right. Yes. That's exactly how I pictured it._

 _Please tell me how much of a bad ass I am in the comments below, because I feel absolutely invincible right now.:-)_


	7. Paladin Hug

In hindsight, Lance really should have expected that getting sucked out of a airlock would…well…suck.

Especially if you and your Lion were now exceptionally vulnerable because of some crazy spell a nasty witch had put on you.

Blue (and Lance) got battered and banged up pretty good during the escape, because of _course_ there were asteroids around them - _oh yeah, it was definitely a Monday_ \- but working together, they managed to avoid the worst of the blows.

As they bounded as well as they could through the asteroids and away from the witch's ship, Lance made sure to activate that tracking chip Keith had given him. Then, a few seconds later, when Keith teleported back into Blue, Lance asked him if he was okay, but…Keith didn't reply right away.

Lance was starting to feel pretty dizzy, but he looked behind his pilot's chair anyway.

His friend was lying on his back on the floor in the passenger section. He was panting for air and had just wrenched his helmet off his head, but he seemed to be mostly okay…

… _oh…good…_

Then Lance felt too dizzy to do anything but slump forward in his chair, and he thought he heard the comms go absolutely crazy with everyone telling him to just hang on -

… _sure…yeah….uh-huh…_

Then Keith was standing by him, and Lance felt the Red Paladin was shaking him by the shoulder again, almost shouting in his ear.

" _LANCE_! Come on, just - just stay awake until we can get you to the healing pods, okay? Aurelis has a theory - uh - long story short - Allura and I can get you and Blue back to normal - but you _can't_ fall asleep yet - come on, nod if you understand me - "

Lance nodded, and Keith was shouting out loud to his own Lion.

"-RED! Red, you got her?!"

Lance looked towards the right side of the view screen, and he had to grin at what he saw.

Aw…Red was flying next to Blue, helping guide her towards her bay…aw…that was sweet…Red really _was_ a softie…just like Keith…

" _What_?!"

… _whoops…was talkin'….out loud…again…sorry…_

" damn it - it's fine, it's _fine_ , Lance, just - keep talking! Come on, tell me a joke - any joke - we're almost there - come on - "

"…'m…tired…Keith…don'…wanna…"

" _Stars_ , Lance, please, don't die now - we're _so_ fucking close - come on, Lance - _please_ -"

Ah, hell, Keith sounded upset again.

With an effort, Lance screwed up his face, and opened one eye. He couldn't really manage to raise his head, so he was more looking up at Keith when he said, very weakly,

"…okay…so…uh…what…do you call…a…a…uh…"

It was too hard. He couldn't think of the joke.

* * *

Apparently his trailing off mid-sentence really freaked Keith out, because then Keith was shaking him by both shoulders again.

"Lance, come on, keep breathing - because if you stop - I am - I am _not_ going to give you CPR-"

 _There_ was a mental image Lance would _very_ much like to unsee, but it also made him laugh.

Keith just sounded _so_ freaked out at the idea that Lance might just stop breathing…and here Lance was, not all that concerned about it. Usually, it was the other way around - _Lance_ was worried that _Keith_ would die, and _Keith_ wasn't terrible upset at the prospect of his own impending death.

The incongruity of it made Lance laugh, if only very weakly. Oh, man, this was just - getting - ridiculous -

"… _hahaha_ …"

Keith kept talking, apparently unaware that he was rambling now, and that Lance was laughing at it.

"I mean, fricking _hell_ , man, I'm _way_ better at killing things than healing them - you know that - healing's _your_ department - I'd probably just end up killing you by accident if I tried to- "

Okay, now Lance was both amused _and_ confused _\- hey, look, a rhyme -_ and he was able to raise his head and give Keith what must have been a very, very bewildered expression.

When Keith saw that Lance was more alert, the Red Paladin's shoulders slumped in relief, and he seemed to be able to actually relax for the first time in what must have been minutes.

It was nice…to see that someone cared this much about you as a friend…but…Lance was still _really_ confused about something Keith had said earlier.

So, he cleared his throat and managed to ask Keith the question that had been on his mind.

"…were you…telling me…that I should…give _myself_ …CPR…?"

Then Keith was looking at Lance as if the Blue Paladin had sprouted two heads.

 _This was a lot more like normal._

"What - _God_ , no, how the _hell_ would _that_ work?!"

They half-glared at each other for about half a second, each in complete confusion, and of course _that_ was when everyone came pounding up Blue's ramp.

* * *

Hunk was the first one up the ramp, and Keith immediately moved aside so the Yellow Paladin could come and pick Lance up and get him down to the healing pods as fast as possible.

"LANCE!" Hunk shouted, grabbing hold of his friend and lifting him up like Lance was just a very big kid. "Ohmygod - Lance - okay, okay, okay - look - I'm going to get you straight to the infirmary - you're going to be fine - you're going to be fine - oh, man, Lance, you _really_ don't look good, man - "

Lance grinned up at Hunk and patted him affectionally on the head...or he tried to. His arms felt way too heavy to lift.

"…aw…you missed me…" he said, but apparently he really sucked at being funny right now, because now Hunk was crying - full on crying - and Lance felt his mouth just start keep going like normal. Apparently it was mostly on auto-pilot because he was _totally_ just saying whatever came into his head right now.

"Oh, man, Hunk, don't cry, I'm fine - I just need a nap and some cookies or something - okay - and maybe some pain meds - can you mix pain meds and cookies…? I sure hope you can…otherwise recovery is going to be a bitch - oh crap is Beyris around - because I just said -"

Then Pidge was by him, jogging to keep up with Hunk, and she was telling him that he didn't need to worry at all, that he should just focus on _not dying_

"-'s a good - plan - Pidge - 's a - really - good - plan - "

Then everything started to fade in and out of focus, because Lance was pretty sure he heard Shiro and Allura saying something to Hunk, and then Coran...and then the next thing Lance knew, he was on a bed in the infirmary with every member of his Space Family gathered around him.

He still felt like complete shit, but when he looked down at himself, he was all bandaged up and he could almost imagine he was in a hospital bed back on Earth.

"…keep him under observation for a few hours…" Aurelis was saying. "… _then_ we can use the healing pod if nothing seems wrong - "

From the corner of the room, Rayzor glanced over at Keith, and the Council Member seemed really, really grumpy when he nodded.

"Yes, let's avoid another quintessence surge, if possible," he said, and Keith just huffed in mock annoyance and rolled his eyes at Rayzor.

"You don't have to tell _me_ twice," he said, and at the way Keith seemed completely at ease on the subject, Rayzor couldn't hold back a smirk of his own.

"Oh, come on now, Keith, we _always_ have to tell you things twice," he said, and Lance wanted to giggle at the insulted look Keith shot Rayzor.

"You do not!"

Lance could have sworn the Council Member exchanged a look with Aurelis and almost grinned before he continued. "Do so-"

Keith was glowering at Rayzor now. "-Do not!"

Then Rayzor did grin widely as he said the next two words, and from somewhere near his head, Lance heard Aurelis snort. " _Do so_."

Keith realized he'd walked right into that one, and he sighed and thumped the back of his head against the wall behind his chair. At his side, Beyris looked up at him and asked,

"…uh…Keith? I don't get it."

The mice twittered and chirped then, pointing over at Lance like bird dogs, and he made an effort to surprise everyone and say something funny.

You know…like he usually did.

* * *

"…whoa…'s like...a party in here…" he said, and when he spoke, everyone jumped to their feet at the same time and crowded as close as they could to him, Rayzor hovering in the background, holding Beyris up so she could see Lance without dive-bombing him in his current, mostly-in-a-body-cast state.

"He's awake! Or at least - alert - a bit - uh -" Coran, hiding his worry with humor - a lot like Lance, actually…maybe that's why they got on so well together…

"Lance - hey - oh Lance - I'm so happy you're back - " Pidge - hugging one of his hands as if she wanted to hug all of him, but didn't want to chance damaging something - aw, _cute_ pidgeon-

"Bro, please - don't ever do that again -" Hunk was crying now, but that was okay, Lance knew that was how Hunk showed he cared - good old Hunk - he was such a good friend -

"I - I'm _so_ glad you're all right - " Allura, trying to smooth back some of Lance's hair from his face - wow her hands were soft - and she was so nice - she was such a great Princesss -

"-Aquaman, only _you_ would come up with Star Wars references in the middle of something like that -" Keith, arms crossed over his chest like normal and standing the farthest away from him, but Lance was pretty sure that had been because Keith had wanted to let Hunk and Pidge and the rest of them be closer - yeah - Keith was actually a huge softie -

And Shiro…Shiro just wrapped both of his arms around Lance in a huge hug, and Lance _really_ liked that. Then Pidge let out a squawk of protest and joined in, despite Aurelis' hand waving and warnings.

"Hey!" she barked, but _softly_ , so she didn't end up yelling in Lance's ear, "If Shiro gets to hug Lance, we _all_ freaking get to hug Lance!"

Beyris wiggled out of her uncle's arms and threw her arms enthusiastically around Lance's ankles.

"Lance!" she crowed in delight, jumping up and down a few times, "We _love_ you, Lance!"

Of course, on the word 'hug', Hunk didn't need to be told twice, and then the rest of the Paladins and the two Alteans had joined in, wrapping Lance in the gentlest, yet biggest group hug they could manage. Even Keith joined in towards the end, and Lance realized his jaw had dropped open only when Keith looked up at him after a few seconds and glared in that strange, half-affectionate way only Keith could pull off.

 _ **Yes**_ _, I care, okay? You're my friend, damn it._

 _Just don't make me say it out loud._

"Don't you say a word," Keith growled, and Lance felt a wide grin cross his own face.

"…see, _now_ you're just confusing me," he said, and then Lance felt Shiro laugh a little at at that, and Lance went on, grinning.

"…I mean, _Keith_ , _buddy_ , you _gotta_ make up your mind - first, you're all like, talk talk talk, and now, you're all like, don't say anything at all. It's double standards, man, they'll drive you _crazy_ \- "

Lance felt Shiro start to laugh a little bit _more_ as he went on, and he brightened at that, because Shiro had seemed really, really sad and worried about him before, because he hadn't said anything, he'd just gone straight to the hug-giving, and so Lance grinned even wider now because he _liked_ to make people laugh, and it was even _better_ when they were giving you hugs and you could _feel_ them laugh, it was really really nice - and now Keith was half-glaring at him like normal, and growling out a reply, with that same half-smile on his face that he had whenever he and Lance were going at it.

"Oh, you want crazy? I'll show _you_ crazy, Lance - I will - I will - uh - "

" _Haha_ , bring it, _Pyro_!"

"Oh, so we're sticking with that one, huh? I guess that makes _you_ Bobby - "

" _Stars_ , Keith, at least get it right, the name is _Iceman_ \- "

Everyone was laughing now, at least a little, because this was what Keith and Lance always did, they _always_ argued over anything at the drop of a hat, and it was good to have a little bit of normal back, especially because right now, it mean that Lance felt safe and happy.

After the chuckles died away, Lance found himself smiling and nestling back happily, surrounded by his space family, all of them still giving him a hug.

"…'m _really_ glad….to be back…" he said, and then he drifted off into a restful sleep.

They all stayed with him until he did.


	8. Bonus Scene: Lion Cuddles

Author's Note: I started writing this series /way/ before we knew what the Paladins called each of their Lions, so here's how I wrote the Lions in this series:

Black - girl

Blue - girl

Green - boy

Gold - boy

Red - boy

Sorry for any confusion. Honestly, the specific gender of each Lion totally didn't strike me as vital for getting to know the Lions as characters overall. :-) Enjoy the lion cuddles. They're so freaking cute.

* * *

As Blue landed in her bay, Red immediately curled around her, trying to warm her with his body. At the unusually gentle gesture from her old friend, Blue felt slightly confused, and she raised her head to try and look at him out of the corner of her eye.

 _Red…what…are you…_

Red nudged her side and growled, but it wasn't a commanding growl. If anything, he sounded like he never planned to be annoyed at her again.

 **Rest, Blue. It is all right. You are safe.**

 _But…my pilot…_

 **-is safe, and will be well. Even now, he receives the treatment he needs.**

Blue trusted Red, she did, but she _had_ to ask. Her pilot had been so weak, in so much pain. She _had_ to know if he would indeed be well.

 _…are…you…certain…?_

Red growled again, but it was a sound that signified absolute certainty, and he pressed his nose against Blue's side again as if the contact with her might help convince her that he spoke truth.

 **I _swear_ that it is so. **

Blue felt so tired, more tired then she ever had before, but Red's words helped the fear inside her to recede.

 _…good…_

She felt herself begin to drift off to sleep, but then Red was calling her name, worry in his voice once more, and a growing dread that she dimly remembered hearing once before, back when she and her Paladin had been fading in the hold of the witch's ship.

 **Blue?! Blue, you must not fade - no - please, Blue! BLUE!**

At the worry in his voice, Blue forced herself to concentrate, to listen to his words.

 **Blue - if you fade now, your Paladin fades with you - you must stay strong - please - what - what can I do -**

Blue stirred, and it took most of her remaining strength to answer.

 _…I…am…cold…_

Usually, she liked the cold…she was the Guardian Spirit of the Water…after all…but this cold…it felt…dark…and…unkind…and she could not keep from shuddering.

Sensing her discomfort, Red let out a roar, and the sound was so loud, it shook the Castle. If she could have, Blue would have tried to nudge him with her shoulder, to show him that there was no need for this worry, that she would… _and_ her Paladin…would be…absolutely…fine…but it was getting harder to think clearly.

Dimly, Blue heard and felt movement around her, and thought that perhaps, Red was taking her…somewhere…larger than her own bay…and then someone - oh - that was Black - was purring something encouraging to her.

Blue concentrated, and with great effort, she opened her eyes and realized that she was surrounded by the other Lions of Voltron, in Black's own bay. Red must have taken her there.

Gold lay beneath Blue's front paws, curled so that he warmed her heart, and Red and Green were either side of her, and it was then that Blue realized that Black was curled around them all.

Well…that made sense…Black was…the largest…of them…all…

* * *

Now Black was saying something to her, and Blue made an effort to listen, because Black was…so nice…and so kind…Blue was glad that Black…finally had…a Paladin…worthy of her…

 ** _Blue, we're here, we're all right here. We're going to stay with you until you feel better._**

 _…oh…thank you…_

Yellow rumbled a purr and asked Blue if she was comfortable, if she was feeling any warmer.

 _Yes…I…do feel…a bit…better…_

Then Green was asking if Blue wanted to stay awake, or sleep, and Blue wasn't sure which she should do.

By her other side, she felt Red's restless energy and concern make him twitch in agitation, and when she didn't answer Green's question right away, he called her name again.

 **Blue**!

 _….oh…what.._ **_is_ **_it…Red…_

 **If you are still cold, I can -**

Blue felt Black raise her head in sudden concern.

 ** _No, Red, we can't just set the castle on fire -_**

When Red replied, he sounded insulted.

 **I was not going to suggest that - I am not stupid!**

Blue felt Black let out a purr of what might have been relief.

 ** _Good._**

Blue thought that Red smirked then, and when he replied, she heard Green chuckle.

 **But I _could_ -**

Yellow joined in the laughter when Black sighed and replied.

 ** _Yes, Red, I_** ** _know_ ****_you could, but_** ** _please_ ****_don't._**

Blue ventured a purred chuckle of her own, and at the sound, she felt everyone's attention turn to her, felt their love and concern as if it were a blanket, warm and enveloping and soft.

Oh, how she loved them.

She wished she could say as much, but like her Paladin, she sometimes struggled to express how she truly felt.

So instead, she made a joke.

 _…perhaps…_ **_Red_ **_…should…have…the name…Pyro…instead of…his Paladin…_

At her side, she felt Red stiffen.

 **And take away his _name_? Blue, you jest!**

Blue chuckled then, and she felt Red slouch and glower.

 **Oh. You _were_ jesting. **

_Of course she was!_ Green said, and Yellow purred and flicked his tail affectionally so it intertwined with Blue's own. _It is her nature to do so._

 **Don't I know it,** Red growled, but Blue felt him huddle closer to her all the same.

Even though Blue knew it would take time for both her and her Paladin to fully recover from the witch's spell, at the moment, she felt safe, and warm, and happy.

She could rest.

* * *

Aw, all the cute Lions are giving Blue a hug. I love them.

There may be more 'bonus scenes' for this fic in the future, but I am on FIRE with the next two stories in the series.

Get it? Red Lion? On fire?

Geez, now he's glaring at me. Sorry, Red.

Next one: Fluff. The one after that: ANGST.

Hopefully I can get these both posted very soon. :-) Let me know what you think - I absolutely LOVE reading your comments!


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